you're ripped at every edge (but you're still a masterpiece)
by coffeehelps
Summary: Rachel has known Finn for ten years, and has been in love with him for nearly as long. Of course, she's oblivious to the way he feels about her. Finchel AU


**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This story title comes from the song "Colors" by Halsey.**

* * *

 **one.**

There was a big lump of a man passed out on Rachel Berry's living room floor, and she had no idea when he had arrived.

With a heavy sigh, Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at the man sleeping on her floor. This wasn't the first time she had found him like this, and she doubted that it would be the last.

God, it was too early for this. She hadn't even had a cup of coffee yet.

In a ritual that had become increasingly frequent over the past couple of years, Rachel cleared her throat loudly. Finn Hudson jerked awake and rolled over, bringing his hands up to cover his face.

"I'm up!" he exclaimed. When Rachel flipped on the light, he groaned and peered at her from between his fingers. "Damn it, Rach. Really?"

Rachel was unapologetic as she made her way into the kitchen and turned on her Keurig. "I suppose that I should be impressed that you managed to make it into my apartment on your own. At least you didn't call me at two o'clock in the morning to beg me to pick you up."

Finn sat up and dragged his hand through his messy hair, causing it to stick up in a million different directions. Rachel pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. If she acted annoyed enough, she would be able to get free breakfast out of this.

"Come on, Rach." Finn gave her a charming smile and pushed himself up onto the couch. "Don't be mad at me."

Stirring some creamer into her freshly brewed cup of coffee, Rachel arched an eyebrow at him. "What would you do if I hadn't given you a copy of my key?"

"Probably pass out in front of your door," Finn said honestly. "It's not my fault that all of the best bars are by your apartment." He groaned and pressed his fingers to his temples, closing his eyes against the bright light coming from the living room light.

Recognizing the signs of a hangover, Rachel took pity on Finn and brewed him a cup of coffee. He was one of those annoyingly lucky people that avoided a hangover most times, so Rachel knew that Finn must have had a rough night. Once it was finished brewing, Rachel took the mug over to Finn and handed it to him. She sat on the couch next to Finn and watched him as she drank her own coffee.

Finn shifted uncomfortably under Rachel's steady gaze and waited to see if she would say something. When several long moments of silence passed, Finn smiled again.

"So do you want mimosas or a bloody Mary at brunch today?" he asked.

"Mimosas, of course," Rachel said. "And I'm assuming that you'll be having a bloody Mary? You know, a little bit of the hair of the dog that bit you?"

Finn snorted. "Hell no. I'll be having a beer."

Rachel rolled her eyes and stood up. "Let me get changed and then we can go. I'll call Quinn and Noah and see if they want to meet us there."

"Let me guess." Finn stretched out on the couch and tucked one of the throw pillows under his head. "Santana is already there."

Rachel grinned as she disappeared into her bedroom. "Yeah, she is!" she called through her open door. She searched through her neatly organized closet and pulled out a red sundress. Rachel quickly changed into it and pulled a comb through her hair. She slipped on a cute pair of ankle boots and grabbed a denim jacket and her bag.

Heading back into the living room, Rachel bit back a smile when she saw Finn had once again fallen asleep. The man really was impossible. Lifting her foot, Rachel nudged Finn's shoulder with the toe of her boot until he jerked awake again.

"What? I'm up," Finn said. He ran a hand through his hair again and instead of it making him look messy, the strands stuck up in almost a deliberate way that worked for him. In fact, despite his rumpled clothing and the stubble on his face, Finn looked put together and ridiculously attractive. Rachel thought it was highly unfair, but she had stopped commenting on it years ago.

Rachel searched through her bag until she found a travel-sized deodorant, and she tossed it at Finn. He may have looked good, but that didn't stop him from smelling like the bar. He grinned at her and applied the deodorant while she just watched with a half-amused, half-annoyed expression.

"You're always prepared, Rach," Finn said. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Isn't that the truth?" Rachel joked. Sure, she managed to keep a smile on her face, but her heart constricted in her chest.

Rachel had always considered herself to be an excellent actress. Even so, it still amazed her that she could sound so cavalier when she wasn't joking in the slightest.

In fact, she was in love with Finn Hudson.

* * *

 **two.**

Finn greeted Noah Puckerman with that handshake-man-hug thing that bro-types always did. Rachel and Quinn rolled their eyes simultaneously and greeted each other with much tamer hugs. Santana, of course, chest-bumped Finn and was almost knocked to the ground for her efforts.

"Dude," Puck said seriously. "Last night was _epic_."

Finn's response was equally solemn. "It really was."

Rachel stared at both of the men that she called her closest friends. "You are both twenty-six years old. How is it possible that you're this immature?"

Neither man answered; instead, they just gave Rachel cheeky smirks. She rolled her eyes again but was unable to help herself from smiling. Next to her, Quinn shook her head in exasperation.

"You two are ridiculous," she stated, but there was no real sting to her words. She reached up and pressed a kiss to Puck's cheek and then they all settled around the table.

Santana grabbed the pitcher of mimosas and poured a glass for her, Quinn, and Rachel. Finn made good on his promise and ordered a beer, and Puck decided to order one as well. The boys started discussing their plans to watch the football game later that day, but Rachel had more pressing questions for Quinn.

"So do we have to do anything to finalize the plans for the wedding?" Rachel asked. Quinn and Puck were getting married in three weeks, and Rachel was the maid of honor. Santana was a bridesmaid as well, so they had all been in wedding-planning mode for months now.

"Please say no," Santana pleaded as she took a long swig of her mimosa. "Because we need a break from that shit."

Quinn glared at Santana. "I can't believe I made you a bridesmaid. You're supposed to _enjoy_ this, you know."

"I will enjoy this," Santana said. "I'll enjoy when we get to the actual wedding and I get to equally enjoy that open bar."

Rachel patted Quinn's arm. "As much as I love helping with the wedding, I have to say that I am also looking forward to the open bar. And those customized cocktails we created for you."

That brought Puck back into the conversation. "Okay, so I know we're going to have those pink drinks or whatever, but please tell me that we're having beer. And hard liquor for shots."

Finn's eyes narrowed at Puck. "You like those pink drinks, dude."

"So?" Puck huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I just want to make sure we had some beer, too."

Rachel laughed at the mental image of Puck in his tuxedo, holding a frosted glass with a pink drink. Finn knew exactly what she was doing and nudged her as he joined in with her laughter, causing Puck to glare at both of them.

"I'm about to disinvite you bastards," Puck declared.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "God, Puck. You're so dramatic."

"Besides, my brother would never allow that to happen," Finn pointed out.

Finn's stepbrother Kurt was actually the official planner of Puck and Quinn's wedding. They had all grown up together, so when Puck and Quinn got engaged, Kurt had immediately started planning away.

Puck snorted. "Hummel is fucking insane."

"Please, like you didn't spend over two hours with him planning what appetizers we were going to have during cocktail hour." Quinn shared a knowing look with Rachel. Puck was actually turning out to be quite the groomzilla.

Tired of everyone picking on him, Puck took a vicious bite of his pancakes as he grumbled under his breath. Rachel took another sip of her mimosa and peered over at Finn who (annoyingly) still showed no signs of a hangover.

Jutting her thumb at Finn, Rachel said, "I found this one passed out on my living room floor this morning."

Santana smirked at him over the rim of her glass. "You still can't hang, can you Hudson?"

"I'm pretty sure I drank you under the table the last time we were all out together," Finn reminded her.

Santana slapped her palm on the table and pointed a threatening finger at Finn. "That doesn't count! I had a cold, you jackass! Don't make me cut you with the razor blades I keep in my bra."

"I still don't believe you actually keep razors in your bra."

"Well wouldn't you like to find out?"

Rachel patted Finn's hand. "Now children, play nicely."

* * *

 **three.**

The three friends walked down the street together. After Rachel made them stop at one of her favorite coffee places, she, Santana, and Quinn continued on to the boutique where Quinn had found their bridesmaid dresses. They were headed for their final fitting, and Santana had already demanded that mimosas be present.

"You're so lucky that we love you, Fabray," Santana declared. "Because I know this wedding is going to be fun, and all, but I'm still pissed about the tea party you made us go to."

Quinn rolled her eyes at the fact that Santana still wouldn't let that particular event go. Back when they had first started the wedding planning, Quinn's mother had planned a luncheon and had all of the bridesmaids attend. There had been tea served, and everyone had to wear proper tea party dresses. Obviously, that wasn't quite Santana's style.

Rachel sniggered. They had spent the entirety of that party drinking, and Judy Fabray still thought that they were "wonderful, respectable young women," so Rachel wasn't sure what Santana was bitching about. She linked arms with Santana and then with Quinn as they continued down the busy city street.

"Calm down, S," Rachel soothed. "We're going to finish up with the dresses, drink a lot of mimosas, and then go finalize the flower arrangements."

Santana opened her mouth to protest, but they had just walked into the boutique and Quinn shoved the flute full of champagne into her hands. Quinn took one for herself and handed another to Rachel as she ushered her two friends towards the fitting rooms.

"Would the two of you just shut up and try on the dresses? You're giving me a headache." Quinn sat down on one of the plush couches and crossed her legs. "My final fitting is at the end of the week. You both have to come to that one too, by the way."

In the fitting room, Rachel managed to twist around just enough to pull up the zipper on her own. "Of course we'd be there, Q," Rachel said. She smoothed the front of the blush colored strapless dress and was amazed that the floor-length gown didn't make her look short. Thank God Quinn was one of those brides who didn't insist on having ugly bridesmaid dresses.

"Wait, we need to stop talking about this wedding shit for a second," Santana declared. Rachel heard the fitting room door open and close next to her as she stepped out for Quinn's inspection and approval. "What we really need to discuss is how Rachel is still in love with Finn and still lets him crash at her apartment after he's spent a night out probably screwing around with other women."

"Ooh, yeah!" Quinn clapped gleefully. "Let's talk about that!"

Rachel wrenched open the door to her own fitting room and stalked out. "Oh my god, it is not like that!" she exclaimed.

Quinn arched an eyebrow. "So you mean you haven't been in love Finn Hudson since you met him ten years ago?"

"Shut up," Rachel snapped. She wouldn't have been so defensive if it wasn't one hundred percent true. "And it hasn't been ten years. It's been like nine years and eleven months."

Santana and Quinn shared a look that had gone between them many times over the years. They had each known Rachel since elementary school, and had been there when Finn Hudson moved into the apartment next to hers when she was fourteen. They had both known the instant Rachel had fallen in love with Finn, and had watched while they became best friends with some weird sort of unresolved sexual tension.

"Still," Quinn said. "He's kind of a man whore."

"So? Noah was a man whore as well, and you managed to turn that around."

Santana finished the rest of her mimosa in one gulp. "I still don't know how you managed to do that," she said. "Do you have a magic vagina or something, Q?"

"Oh my god," was Quinn's response to that particular question.

Rachel smoothed her hands over the front of the dress. "Can we please stop talking about this?" she pleaded. "I don't… I don't want to."

"Aw, R!" Quinn hugged Rachel tightly. "Don't worry about it. Finn will eat his heart out when he sees you in this dress. Because honestly, you look amazing."

It was true. The crisscross bodice of the dress actually made it look like she had some cleavage, and the blush color complimented her tan. Rachel hugged Quinn in return and then grunted when Santana slammed her body into theirs.

"I'm telling you," Santana said. "Just jump him already. He'll love it and then you two will end up dating. Or at least you'll have a really good fuck."

Rachel squirmed and tried to glare at Santana over her shoulder. "S! Do you have to be so crass?"

"Well duh," Santana said. "It's why you guys love me."

* * *

 **four.**

Finn leaned back in his chair and slowly spun around in a circle as Rachel went on and on about the resort they would be staying at for Quinn and Puck's joint bachelor and bachelorette party. Her perked up when Rachel mentioned that they would be getting bottle service at the club they were going to, though.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Finn asked. "I mean, who knows what's going to happen during this joint bachelor and bachelorette party."

Rachel thrust a threatening finger in Finn's face. "Stop trying to talk your way out of this, Hudson," she ordered. "Quinn decided that they wanted a joint party, and what the bride wants, the bride gets. Besides, we know that you would Neanderthals would go and get yourself into some situation out of _The Hangover_ , and we do not need to deal with that."

"Quinn wants to have a joint party so Puck doesn't get to have strippers," Finn grumbled under his breath as he pouted.

Rachel pressed her lips together to stop the smirk from forming on her lips. The boys and girls were getting ready in separate rooms before they all went out together, and Rachel had already ordered two strippers to provide some pre-party entertainment. But the boys didn't need to know that.

"Strippers are _so_ cliché," was what Rachel said instead. "So why don't you just let that one go?"

"Puck is going to be heartbroken."

"Sure he is."

Finn extended one long leg and nudged Rachel with his foot. "Come on, Rach. Can't you plan just a little fun?"

He was pouting again, but it wasn't the self-pitying one from earlier. It was the one that Rachel could never say no to. She had fallen for it at the age of fourteen, and there hadn't been a single time it hadn't worked since.

"The club we're going to might have a stripper pole or two," Rachel revealed. "I wouldn't plan a night of complete boredom, I'll have you know." Balling up a piece of scrap paper, Rachel threw it at Finn and grinned when it hit its mark and bounced off of his forehead. "By the way, you're supposed to be helping me plan this."

Finn winced and rubbed at his forehead. "I did help! I booked that resort." He smirked and leaned back further in his chair, looking quite impressed with himself. "They're really excited to have a couple of the New York Rangers and their friends staying there, you know."

Rolling her eyes, Rachel returned to the itinerary she had created for their weekend of (tame) debauchery. Finn and Puck both played professional hockey for the New York Rangers, and during the first season they had played last year, they had brought the team all the way to the Stanley Cup. They lost in game five, but they had definitely proven that they were invaluable players to the team. There was no doubt that they would take their team to the Stanley Cup this year and win.

"Speaking of, you and Noah spoke with your coach and got permission to get time off, correct?" Rachel flipped through the papers on her desk containing the travel plans and booking for the resort to make sure that everything was in order. "I'd hate to get in trouble."

Finn snorted. "Don't even try that, Rach. You know that Coach adores you and Quinn. It's kind of unfair, actually."

Smiling angelically, Rachel look over her shoulder at Finn and winked at him. Finn gave her a true, genuine smile in return that made her heart skip a beat, and once again she cursed the effect Finn Hudson had on her. Talk about unfair.

On the desk, Finn's phone buzzed. It had been the fifth time in as many minutes. Tired of the interruptions, Rachel snatched Finn's phone up and looked at the name on the screen. "Who's Heather?" Rachel asked, although she was fairly certain she knew the answer.

Snatching the phone back from Rachel, Finn tucked it into the pocket of his jeans without looking at the messages. "It's just a girl that I met when we went out last weekend."

"And by girl you met, you mean girl you slept with?"

Finn frowned at that comment, and Rachel had to admit that she delivered it with a bit more ire than she meant to. "I didn't sleep with her," Finn said. But he refused to look Rachel in the eye. "I might have made out with her, though. She's been texting me ever since."

"Finn." Rachel reached over and covered one of Finn's hands with her own. "Avoiding Heather's constant text messaging isn't the answer. She clearly isn't taking your hints, however obvious they may be. You at least owe the poor girl an explanation."

Finn groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Rach, I don't want to."

"You're twenty-six years old," Rachel reminded him. "You can't act like this forever."

"You don't have to remind me." Finn swiveled back and forth in his chair, but there was an unreadable expression on his face that Rachel wasn't sure what to do with. He hadn't pulled away from her, though, and the thought made Rachel's stomach swoop.

Taking pity on him, Rachel said, "What kind of food do you want at the club? We have to have food if we're having bottle service, you know."

Finn perked up at that. "Can we have those pigs in a blanket things? I know you don't think they're fancy enough, or whatever, but you did say that we're going to a club with stripper poles. I think we can have those mini hotdogs."

Rachel couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips, even as she shook her head. "Yes, Finn. We can have whatever you want."

"So does that mean I can go get a beer from your fridge, then?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Ugh, fine. You know I only keep that kind of beer in there for you, anyway."

Finn jumped up and disappeared into the kitchen. "It's not my fault you're such a beer snob!"

"I am not a beer snob!" Rachel protested, even though she totally was. "I just don't like cheap beer!"

"Yeah, whatever." Finn came back into the living room with a Bud Light in one hand, and a margarita in the other for Rachel. She smiled brightly at him as she took it and then reached over to pat his arm.

"You're forgiven," she declared.

Finn grinned at her as he took a seat in her desk chair once again. He swiveled back and forth in the chair, extending his long legs so that his feet nudged against Rachel's. "Of course I am."

Rachel bit her lip and looked back down at the spread sheet in front of her, even though she wasn't really reading what was on it. It was so unfair that Finn Hudson had such an effect on her.

* * *

 **five.**

The last note rang out through the theater, and Rachel's chest heaved with the exertion and the success of her performance. She beamed, turning towards the director with expectant eyes.

Shannon Beiste, of course, was suitably impressed with Rachel's performance. She nodded her head once, which was her signal that she was satisfied with today's rehearsal and they didn't need to do another run through.

"Excellent," Beiste said. "You're all good to go. Enjoy your weekend, everyone. You deserve it."

Rachel clapped her hands together excitedly and turned towards her co-star, Jon. "We did it!" she squealed. "I told you today's rehearsal would be brilliant!"

Jon hugged Rachel and together they walked off the stage. "You were right, of course," he told her. "I suppose I can't persuade you to go out for drinks with me?"

"I can't." Rachel sighed wistfully as she grabbed her bag. "I have to meet with Quinn. Maid of honor duties call, you know."

"Of course, of course. And you'll set me up to meet some of those delicious New York Rangers, right? You would be lucky enough to have an in with the team, Rachel Berry."

Sighing, Rachel tried to manage a smile for her co-star. Jon made a sympathetic noise and hugged her again, rubbing his hands comfortingly over her back. Rachel leaned into his embrace, thankful for the support from her friend.

"Sweetie, you need to tell Finn Hudson that you're in love with him," Jon advised.

Rachel snorted and rolled her eyes. The only reason that Jon even knew that she was in love with Finn was because she had gotten drunk one night after a rehearsal and had accidently let it slip. She had sworn him to secrecy, but that didn't mean Jon didn't constantly tease her about it.

"Please, that's easier said than done," Rachel pointed out.

Of course, Jon had some stellar advice for her. "Just get drunk and tell him how you feel. If it doesn't work out, pretend that you don't remember it in the morning."

Rolling her eyes, Rachel swatted at Jon's chest. "So not helping, Jon." She checked the clock on her phone and grabbed her bag. "I've got to get going, anyway. We're meeting Noah and Finn to finalize the menu."

Jon waggled his eyebrows at Rachel. "Ooh, you're meeting with Finn to do wedding things!"

"Oh my god, shut up," was Rachel's response to that. True, with Finn as the best man and Rachel as the maid of honor, it was definitely bringing up some feelings that Rachel would much rather ignore. Sometimes it was just easier to pretend that she wasn't in love with Finn. Sure, it led to a lot of repressed emotions over the years, but Rachel had gotten used to it.

She left the theater and took the subway uptown to the restaurant where she was meeting Finn, Puck, and Quinn. Of course, she made it before the boys had. Quinn was sipping at a glass of wine and wasn't at all surprised that Rachel was the first to arrive in their group.

"Where are the boys?" Rachel asked, even though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer to that question.

Quinn snorted and set her phone aside. "Late, of course. They stopped at a bar."

"Of course they did." Rachel rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Quinn. Naturally, Quinn had predicted her arrival and had already ordered a glass of Rachel's favorite wine. "They do know that there's alcohol here, right?"

"Apparently the game is on. They said they'd be here in ten minutes the last time I talked to Puck. They have…" Quinn checked her watch. "…another forty-five seconds to make it on time."

In the last five seconds, Puck and Finn burst into the restaurant. Puck fist pumped in victory and then grabbed Finn by the shoulders, bumping his chest against his. "YES! We made it!" He thrust a finger in his fiancée's direction. "I told you that we would make it!"

"You're ridiculous," Quinn said by way of greeting. But she still stood and wrapped her arms around Puck, accepting the kiss he offered her. He went even further by dipping her backwards, and Quinn laughed. Noah Puckerman might have been completely and utterly out there, but Quinn loved him, and he was her idiot.

Rachel was still sitting, and Finn wrapped his arms around her from behind and hugged her tightly. She smiled as she leaned back into him, bringing her hands up to cover his. Finn pressed a kiss to her cheek. When he released Rachel, he took the free seat on the other side of her, and she didn't miss the large grin on his face.

"Well, you're in a good mood," Rachel noted. Finn Hudson was too damn attractive for his own good.

"We had a great practice," Finn told her. "So Puck and I stopped for celebratory beers on the way here." Finn patted his stomach and leaned back in his chair. "I could definitely go for some food right now."

Now that Quinn and Puck were finished making out, they both took their seats at the table. "Well, you could have been here earlier and we could have eaten sooner," she pointed out.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Puck said. He shook out his napkin and laid it over his lap. "Let's get this show on the road. I'm ready to eat the good shit."

Rachel propped her chin in her hand. "Aw, Noah! Look at that! You have manners now."

"Shut the fuck up," Noah snapped. He gulped down half of his glass of wine in retaliation and then snapped his fingers, signaling to the waiter that they were ready to start the tasting.

"Don't be a dick," Finn said in a good-natured voice. He nudged Rachel with his shoulder and added, "That's what you get for accusing Puck of having manners."

Their first course, the salad, was delivered. Quinn and Rachel had to sit through an in depth description of Finn and Puck's hockey practice. A pasta dish—an upscale version of fettuccini Alfredo, Puck's favorite—was the second course. That was spent with Finn and Puck dissecting their coach's comments about their practice while Rachel and Quinn shared amused looks.

The main course was next, and it was a choice of filet mignon and trout. Rachel, being mostly vegetarian, had ordered the trout. She was the only one at the table having it, and she was pretty sure she made the best choice.

Before the hockey talk could start again, Rachel said, "Quinn, this trout is amazing. This was a perfect choice!"

Quinn opened her mouth to respond, but Finn beat her to it. "Can I try a piece?" he asked as his fork snuck towards Rachel's plate.

Rachel slapped Finn's hand away. "Um, this is my trout. Go get your own!"

"Please, Rach?" Finn pouted, and she cursed under her breath because he totally knew that she couldn't resist that look.

"Finn, just eat the rest of your steak!"

"Come on, Rach. Please?"

"Ugh." Rachel groaned and rolled her eyes, but she scooped up a forkful of the trout and held it out to Finn. He rewarded her with a grin and ate the trout off of the fork she held out. The waiter who had been refilling their water glasses smiled at Finn and Rachel.

"You two are cute," the waiter said. "You must be so excited to be getting married!"

Rachel's mouth fell open and the fork slipped from her fingers. It clattered to the table, but Rachel didn't notice. "Oh, um…" She started laughing and wasn't able to control as Finn sat next to her, doing nothing more than blinking. "We're not the ones getting married! Ha ha! They are!" Rachel gestured to Puck and Quinn and waited for one of them to say something.

Quinn just smirked at Finn and Rachel. "Oh no. This is just too funny."

Puck raised his empty wine glass. "We should toast to the happy couple! But if we're going to toast, I'm going to need some more wine."

"Yes." Rachel downed the rest of the wine in her glass and held it out to the waiter. "We're definitely going to need more wine."

* * *

 **six.**

"S! It's not funny!"

Santana snorted and continued to laugh despite Rachel's protests. "Are you kidding me? It's fucking hilarious! When the hell is Hudson going to get his head out of his ass and realize that the two of you belong together? Obviously, the waiter has it all figured out."

"Shut up," Rachel snapped. She lifted a throw pillow and launched it at Santana, but the other woman just dodged it and continued to laugh. Quinn shook her head and didn't even bother to hide her smirk. When they had come back from finalizing the menu, Quinn had been only too eager to tell Santana about the events at the restaurant.

"Come on, R," Quinn said. "You have to admit that it was pretty funny. Finn looked like he was going to pass out."

"Yeah, and it wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement for his feelings towards me," Rachel murmured. She looked down at her hands and was embarrassed to feel tears blurring her eyes. Rachel had been trying all day to see the humor in the situation at the restaurant, but all she could think about was the look on Finn's face when the waiter had said they were together.

Quinn and Santana looked at each other before they both stood and joined Rachel on the couch, crowding around her so that she barely had any space to herself. They wrapped their arms around their friend, holding her tightly.

"Do you want me to kick his ass?" Santana suggested. "Because I definitely could. He may be like three times the size of me and a professional hockey player, but I lived on the streets. I know what's up."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "S, you grew up in a penthouse on the Upper East Side. Both of your parents were doctors. You grew up on the exact opposite of the streets."

"Still." Santana flipped her long, dark hair over her shoulder. "I know things."

Shaking her head, Quinn rubbed Rachel's back. "R, seriously. Finn is going to get over himself and realize that he's in love with you."

Safely ensconced in her friends' arms, Rachel pulled a pillow onto her lap and hugged it tightly. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Quinn ignored that. "Use the wedding as an opportunity for him to see you as more than just his best friend. He just needs a little push, R."

"I'm totally willing to give him that push," Santana offered. "Literally. Into the wall. So he can hit his head."

Burying her face in the pillow, Rachel laughed. She peeked over the edge of it and looked at her smiling friends. "Do you really think we can make this work?"

"Duh," Santana said.

Quinn nodded her head. "We can set up a whole plan, if you want us to!"

"Quinn, you have your wedding to focus on! You can't worry about me and my love life. Or lack thereof, really."

"Hello, I've been Team Finchel since we were in high school," Quinn pointed out. "It's about time the two of you pulled your heads out of your asses and got together. I'm more than happy to help give the push the two of you need."

"Quinn put it nicely," Santana said. "But yeah, I agree with her. We can definitely make this happen."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Quinn and Santana. "Please don't actually physically harm anyone with this plan. I remember how the last one you two came up with ended."

Quinn and Santana smirked before they high-fived one another. The last time they had concocted a plan, it was against Rachel's cheating ex-boyfriend. It had involved several Slushies, and the three of them still laughed whenever they passed a 7-Eleven.

"You're just lucky that we like Finn Hudson," Santana said. "But if you ever tell him I said that, I'll kick your ass."

They made their way through two large bottles of wine and some takeout before Santana and Quinn went on their way. Rachel curled up on the couch once again, ready to catch up on _The Bachelorette_ (it was a guilty pleasure). She had just settled in and had hit play when there was a knock on the door.

Groaning, Rachel stood up. She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders as she shuffled towards the door. When she swung it open, she honestly hadn't been very surprised to find Finn Hudson standing on the other side. It was only about eleven thirty at night, but he was looking significantly drunk.

Rachel sighed and tightened the blanket around her shoulders. "Finn."

"Rach." Finn leaned against the doorframe as his head lolled to one side. Rachel could actually smell the tequila seeping from his body, and she winced. There was a very good chance that Finn wouldn't be able to avoid this hangover. "Can I come in?"

"Always." Rachel's face relaxed into a small smile as she stepped aside to allow Finn to enter. He stumbled, and Rachel reached out to catch him by the hand. She led him over to the couch and helped him sit down. She perched next to his shoulder while Finn groaned and covered his face with his hands.

"Is it possible to feel a hangover coming on while you're still drunk?" Finn slurred.

Rachel chuckled and, unable to help herself, smoothed her hand over his perpetually messy hair. "Probably. Let me get you some water. When you wake up tomorrow morning, you can have all of the Ibuprofen you want."

Finn let her get up and get him a glass of water. When she got back to the couch, however, he tugged on her hand and pulled her down on top of him. Rachel let out a gasp of surprise when her face ended up inches from Finn's. He stared at her, his eyes suddenly serious and intense. A few beats of silence passed before Rachel blinked and looked away.

"Finn," Rachel whispered.

"Just… stay with me for a little while. Please," Finn pleaded. His face was so earnest and open that there was no way that Rachel could say no. She nodded her head and laid her head against his chest as his arms wrapped around her.

Unable to relax completely, Rachel stared at her muted television while Finn drifted off to a peaceful sleep. It was almost three o'clock in the morning when Rachel realized that Finn's arms had basically anchored her to his body. If she really wanted to, she could have extracted herself from his hold. The truth was, though, Rachel didn't really want to. She liked being wrapped in Finn's arms, and, knowing that Finn was fast asleep. Rachel could finally feel her eyes getting heavy.

Another fifteen minutes passed before Rachel finally fell asleep. It was hours later, well after the sun had risen, that Rachel finally opened her eyes and realized that Finn was still resting comfortably beneath her. He was watching a football game on television with the sound on mute. When Finn noticed Rachel shifting on his chest, his arms tightened around her.

"Morning, sleepy head," Finn teased. "It's about time you woke up."

Rachel yawned and buried her face in her pillow—which still happened to be Finn's chest. "You don't get to tease me," she grumbled against his chest. "You're the one who came knocking on my door in the middle of the night, drunk off his ass."

Finn grinned at her. "I'll buy you breakfast," he offered.

Rachel rolled off of Finn and immediately jumped to her feet. "Sold! I'll get ready and we can go out."

As she headed into the bathroom, Rachel tried to shake off the lingering tingles she had from spending the night wrapped in Finn's arms. It had happened a few times over the years, and they never talked about it the morning after. Rachel had no doubt that pattern would continue this time around.

She sighed as she changed into a clean pair of leggings and a tank top. If anything, Rachel had gotten herself into this mess. She supposed she should just accept it.

* * *

 **seven.**

Rachel swatted Puck's hands away and held up a threatening finger in his direction. "I swear to god, Noah! If you poke me one more time, I'm going to break your finger in half!"

Puck snorted and proceeded to poke Rachel in the shoulder once again. "First of all, you need to move. You're standing in the way of the fried ravioli, and I want a piece. Second of all, please, Berry. Like I'm fucking afraid of you."

"Dude, you should be," Finn advised. "Rach has some scarily accurate aim, and it hurts."

"That would be because you're a pussy, Hudson."

Just to prove Finn's point, Rachel picked up one of the decorative crowns the resort staff had used to decorate their suite for the joint bachelor/bachelorette party and launched it at Puck. It bounced off of his forehead and Puck winced while Finn high-fived Rachel in victory.

"Whatever," Puck mumbled as he rubbed his forehead. "Just give me some fried ravioli."

The whole group was at the resort where they would be celebrating the whole weekend, and of course they had started off by ordering food. Finn had even hired a bartender to come up to their suite of rooms, and of course Santana had started them all off by ordering a round of shots.

Rachel clapped her hands to together to get everyone's attention. "So we're going to start off by splitting up for the night. That means both the bridal party and the groomsmen can go have whatever fun they want."

"Within reason." Quinn pointed a threatening finger in Puck's direction. "You can go to strip club, but there's only looking. No touching."

With a fried ravioli hanging halfway out of his mouth, Puck asked, "Why am I getting the finger pointed in my direction so much?"

Jake, Puck's younger brother, patted his shoulder. He had been married to his wife Marley for just under a year, so he had been through all of this already. "You might as well get used to it, man," Jake told him. "Just accept it."

Santana rolled her eyes and come over with another round of shots for everyone. "Okay, drink up! We have a show to make and we have to get ready. I already have our drinks waiting in the room."

"Good lord, S," Quinn muttered under her breath. But she took the shot anyway and downed it before she grabbed Rachel's hand and dragged her into the room. Santana hung back and turned towards the guys.

"Okay, I'd much rather be going to whatever strip club the three of you are headed to, but I'm part of the bridesmaids or whatever." Santana waved her hand. "But I'm going to keep an eye on your women. So once of you assholes better face time me while you're there."

Leaving the guys as they started laughing, Santana headed into the room where Quinn and Rachel were getting ready. As per tradition, Quinn was only going to be wearing white outfits the entire weekend. Rachel was wearing a black skirt with a matching crop top that bared a small strip of skin at her mid drift. Santana, of course, had brought the most outrageous outfits of all—she would be wearing a body-con red dress that was so short that if she moved, she was in danger of showing too much.

Both Quinn and Rachel turned to stare at Santana as she pulled the dress on. "What?" Santana demanded. "I have to look hot, okay?"

Quinn rolled her eyes and just decided to ignore Santana's choice of outfit all together. Turning to Rachel, she asked, "So what's our plan for this weekend?"

"Um." Rachel gestured to the mixed drinks laid out in front of them, and then to the suitcase full of their party clothes. "To get really drunk and have lots of fun? And recover by the pool after brunch every day?"

"Well obviously, R," Quinn stated. "I mean, what's your plan with Finn?"

"What do you mean, what's my plan with Finn?"

Santana flipped her hair over one shoulder and checked her reflection in the mirror. "I'll tell you what the plan is. All she has to do is wear a bikini at the pool tomorrow, and Finn will completely lose his shit. We all know how he gets around half-naked girls."

"Be nice," Rachel chided.

"She's right, though," Quinn agreed. "When was the last time Finn got to see you in a bikini, anyway?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulder. "I don't know. It's been a while." The truth was, Rachel had somehow managed to avoid that particular situation for over a year. It was mostly a move of self-preservation on Rachel's part, but she didn't think she could handle seeing Finn in a bathing suit without being completely obvious of her attraction to him.

"Perfect!" Quinn wrapped an arm around Rachel's shoulders. "So tomorrow, we'll put the plan in motion. For now, though, we're going to go out and have a great time tonight!"

* * *

 **eight.**

As soon as the sun began to stream though the windows, Rachel woke up. Quinn and Santana were still passed out next to her, but Rachel (thankfully) felt no sign of a hangover. She jumped out bed and dug around in her suitcase until she found a sweater and pulled it on over her tank top.

She headed out into the living area that they shared and saw that Puck was the only other one awake. He smiled at her in greeting and said, "Quinn and Santana still asleep?"

"Of course," Rachel said. "You know how Quinn is after a night of drinking. And Santana probably won't wake up until well after noon. I take it the boys are still asleep?"

"Yeah, but Finn will probably wake up as soon as he smells the breakfast that I just ordered," Puck said. He leaned against the counter and smirked at Rachel. "Speaking of Finn, this is apparently the weekend you're putting your plan in motion?"

"What plan?" was Rachel's immediate response. She and Puck had always been close, as they had a brother and sister kind of relationship. Even so, she still wasn't willing to hash out her feelings about Finn with Puck. There was no way she was drunk enough for that.

Puck rolled his eyes. "Stop shitting me, Rachel. I know how you feel about Finn. And if you want to make your move this weekend, I say go for it."

Rachel peered up at Puck, even though she knew her cheeks were practically on fire from blushing so much. "Really?"

"Fuck yeah." Puck looked annoyingly superior, like he knew something that Rachel didn't know. She wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of asking, and he certainly wasn't going to give up the information. Puck smirked at her, because he definitely knew what she was thinking. Rachel was sure that it was plastered all over her face.

"What do you have to lose, anyway?" Puck continued.

Rachel sobered at that. "My best friend," she stated truthfully. Her voice was so low, Puck almost didn't hear her. Rachel was surprised when the smarmy smirk disappeared from his face, and he actually looked a little sympathetic as he reached out and squeezed her shoulder.

"You're not going to lose him," he assured her.

"Yeah?" Rachel really didn't want to think about the negative outcomes that could happen should she admit her feelings to Finn. She had spent ten years being perfectly alright with just being his best friend, and she didn't want to lose him.

Puck smiled at her. "I promise." There was a knock on their suite door then, and Puck's smile turned into an evil grin. "That should be the food. At least we get first pick, because those assholes are still passed out."

Rachel looked at the time on her phone. "I'm giving it ten minutes until Finn gets up. And I'm going to bet that Quinn will be fifteen minutes after that, and Santana will up in forty-five minutes."

Puck pointed a finger at her as he went to let the room service in. "I'll take that bet," he agreed. "Loser has to sit with Santana on the ride back."

Rachel rolled her eyes, but she secretly hoped that she was right. Santana was notoriously bad to travel with (on the car ride up to the resort, they had made Puck's younger brother sit with her).

Puck had ordered quite the breakfast spread for them, and of course there was a pitcher full of bloody Mary and another full of mimosas. Rachel immediately poured herself a mimosa and selected a bagel with lox.

Sure enough, ten minutes later, Finn came shuffling out of his room. He yawned and rubbed a hand over his messy hair, causing it to stick out even more. He plopped down in the chair next to Rachel and poured himself a bloody Mary. He smiled over at Rachel, who was watching him with an amused look on her face.

"Morning," Finn greeted.

Rachel grinned at him. "Morning, sleepy head. Did you have a fun time last night?"

Finn snorted and reached for a water bottle as well. He tapped it against Rachel's arm and raised his eyebrows. "You're one to talk," he said. "We saw the pictures from last night, you know."

"I can't believe Santana took those pictures," Rachel huffed. "I have to make her delete them."

"Hell no!" Puck protested. "Don't even act like you still don't have those pictures of us from our twenty-first birthday."

Rachel couldn't hold back the laughter that escaped her. Puck and Finn's birthday fell very close together, so they had a joint twenty-first birthday celebration. Rachel and Quinn had played chaperone for the night, but even under their watchful eyes, the two boys had still managed to get arrested anyway. Naturally, before they had picked them up, Rachel and Quinn had taken plenty of embarrassing pictures of Puck and Finn.

Quinn came out of the bedroom them, looking one hundred percent refreshed. She was dressed in a white bikini, complete with a breezy white cover up. Quinn really was pushing the whole bridal theme this weekend.

Puck let out a wolf whistle and caught Quinn's wrist, pulling her onto his lap. "Damn, babe," he said by way of greeting before he laid a kiss on her. Quinn giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. The table rolled their eyes at the little display of affection, but they didn't protest too much. The two of them were about to get married, after all.

"So I take it we're going to the pool today?" Finn questioned as he gestured to Quinn's bathing suit.

Quinn nodded her head and reached over to steal a piece of Puck's bacon. "I thought it'd be a nice way for everyone to relax before we all went out together tonight. Plus Rachel rented a cabana for us, so you can bet that we're going to put it to good use this weekend."

"Don't worry, Finn." Rachel patted his cheek affectionately. "I made sure that the cabana is going to be well stocked with food."

Finn picked up a biscuit and transferred half of it into his mouth at once. "Good," he mumbled around the bread. He slid some more eggs and bacon onto his plate, along with another biscuit. "Santana better get out here before all the food is gone, you know."

It seemed that just mentioning her name was enough for Santana to finally drag her butt out of bed. She shuffled into the lounge area, still in her pajamas. "I need a bloody Mary," she said by way of greeting.

Puck had already taken it upon himself to prepare one, and he passed it to Santana. She gulped down half of it before taking a seat at the table and reaching for the nearest platter of eggs. Instead of putting it on a plate, she just picked up a fork and started digging into it.

"Rough night, Santana?" Puck teased.

Santana shot him a withering glare. "Shut the fuck up," she snapped. It wasn't that she was terribly hungover; she was just up earlier than she wanted to be. The lure of breakfast had proved to be too great, though.

Naturally, Santana had overheard their conversation about going to the pool. "By the way, R. Q and I picked out a bathing suit for you. So don't even try and wear that dumb tankini or whatever shit you brought."

"Hey!" Rachel scowled at Santana. "That bathing suit is cute. And I'm not wearing a string bikini, Santana. You know I'm not comfortable wearing that sort of thing."

Quinn waved her hand dismissively, effectively ending the brewing argument before it even started. "Relax, R. I promise it's not too revealing but it's still better than that old suit you bought two years ago."

Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "Why is everyone making fun of me?" she demanded.

"Aww, Rach!" Finn leaned over and smacked a kiss against Rachel's cheek. Of course, her cheeks flushed immediately and she looked away, hoping that no one would notice her reaction. "No one is making fun of you."

Forcing a laugh to cover her reaction to Finn, Rachel turned and picked up her bagel to take another bite. "Yeah, haha. Sure."

She didn't miss the way that Quinn nudged Puck, or the pointed look Santana sent her.

* * *

 **nine.**

"I'm actually surprised." Rachel turned from side to side, looking at her reflection in the mirror. "This isn't that bad."

Quinn was wearing a self-satisfied smile as she leaned back against the bed in the girls' suite. "You should have seen the one Santana picked out for you."

Huffing impatiently, Rachel ignored that statement and returned to admiring her reflection. It was a cute purple bikini, and it was much more her style as opposed to something held together with strings. The top was a bandeau, held together with a gold clasp. Rachel nodded at herself approvingly before she reached for black, lacey cover-up and slipped it on.

"Alright, let's go," Rachel said. "I want to be laying poolside, with a drink in hand, in no less than three minutes."

Nodding her head in agreement, Quinn stood up and straightened her white cover-up. "Santana, enough with the primping! Let's go!" she yelled over her shoulder.

It was another thirty seconds before Santana finally emerged from the bathroom. Her hair was perfect and her makeup was immaculate, causing both Rachel and Quinn to gape at her. Without stopping for a cover-up to put over her metallic silver string bikini, Santana picked up her tote and plopped a large sunhat on her head. Finally realizing that her best friends were staring at her, she turned and arched an eyebrow.

"What?" she demanded.

"S… you do know that we're going swimming, right?" Rachel asked carefully.

Santana shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah." She pointed to her face with a smirk. "Trust me, this shit would need a power washer to come off."

"Um… okay." Quinn and Rachel exchanged a look, and then Quinn turned to head out of the suite. "The guys are already down at the pool. I told them we'd meet them there. I also told them they better have drinks waiting for us!"

Sure enough, when they arrived at the pool, the boys had drinks with umbrellas sticking out of them waiting. They even had a row of shots lined up, and Quinn, Santana, and Rachel lined up and dutifully took their shots. It appeared as though they would be starting the drinking early.

Santana slammed her shot glass back down on the bar that came with their private cabana. "You bitches better be able to keep up with me," she declared.

Finn snorted from his place at the bar, where he was getting a beer. "You're the one who better keep up with us, Santana. We still haven't forgotten that time you tapped out early."

As she had every other time Finn brought it up, Santana slapped her fist angrily against the bar. "I told you that it doesn't fucking count! I was sick!"

Turning with a smirk, Finn offered Santana another shot. "Then have another one—" He stopped talking abruptly when he caught sight of Rachel settling into a chaise. His mouth dropped open as she slipped off her lacey cover-up and began to apply sunscreen to her shoulders.

Santana smirked, knowing exactly what it was that Finn was gaping at. She took her shot and then swiped the second one that Finn was holding and downed that one as well. He still hadn't been able to tear his eyes away from Rachel, and of course she was oblivious to his attention.

"You two are idiots," Santana announced.

That seemed to be enough to pull Finn out of his little trance. "What?"

"Nothing." Santana smirked and gestured for another shot. "You have to catch up, by the way."

Across the cabana, Rachel stretched out against the white wicker of her chaise. She took a long sip of her tropical drink and soaked up the sun that was streaming down. "Renting this cabana was such a great idea," Rachel announced. "God, I'm brilliant."

"I'm not about to argue with that," Quinn agreed. She held out the tube of sunscreen to Puck, who had approached as soon as Quinn had settled herself into her lounge chair. He leaned over and kissed her as he took the sunscreen from her.

"Quinn Fabray, have I ever told you how unbelievably sexy you are?" Puck asked.

Quinn smirked at him as she sat up to allow her fiancé to begin rubbing the sunscreen onto her back. "You might have mentioned it once or twice."

Rachel made a gagging noise, but she was smiling. Quinn and Puck steadfastly ignored her and continued with their flirting. The longer it went, the raunchier the two of them got. Unable to take it much longer, Rachel climbed out of her chaise with her drink in hand and headed towards the bar.

"I'm super happy for Quinn and Noah, but sometimes those two are so cute it's actually disgusting," Rachel said. She leaned against the bar next to Finn and took a long sip of her drink. There was pomegranate or some equally sweet, tropical fruit mixed in, and it was absolutely delicious.

"Uh… what?" Finn said.

Arching an eyebrow, Rachel turned to look up at Finn. His beer was hanging limply from his hand, and he had a look of surprised confusion on his face. With her brow furrowing in concern, Rachel reached up and touched his cheek.

"Finn? Are you alright?"

Finn seemed to snap himself out of whatever funk he was in. That adorable half smile lifted his lips, and he nodded his head. "I'm fine, Rach." Doing a complete one-eighty, he changed the subject. "So are you going to take another shot, or what? You have to catch up to me and Santana."

"Um." Rachel wrinkled her nose. "I think I'm going to pass on that for right now. I want to pace myself."

Santana lifted her martini glass in a salute. "That's because you can't fucking keep up with me, R."  
Rachel rolled her eyes, but she ignored Santana completely. Sometimes it was just better to let Santana go instead of egging her on. Eyeing the empty shot glasses that were lined up on the bar, Rachel looked up at Finn.

"Are you drinking water?" she asked. "You don't want to end up passed out in bed before we actually make it out tonight, you know."

"Of course I'm drinking water, Rach," Finn assured her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. Rachel's heart rate immediately increased ten-fold—she was almost positive that Finn could see her heart pounding against her rib cage. The extra exposed skin due to their bathing suits was setting Rachel even more on edge than usual. To increase Rachel's shock, Finn ducked down and pressed an affectionate kiss to Rachel's cheek.

Finn and Rachel had always been affectionate with one another. They had cuddled each other and hugged and done things like kiss each other's cheeks. Rachel was always incredibly aware of whenever Finn touched her, but she tried to play it off as best she could.

This weekend, however, things were different. Maybe it was because she was so aware of just how in love with Finn she was, or maybe it was because everyone knew about her feelings for Finn and kept talking about it. Whatever the reason, Rachel found that every touch and affectionate gesture between her and Finn were amplified a million times over.

Settling back against the bar once again, Finn kept his arm loosely draped around Rachel's waist. Staying there made Rachel hyperaware of every move Finn made; at the same time, she didn't want to move away and make it weird. So Rachel stayed at the bar with Finn's arm around her as she sucked down the rest of her drink without taking a breath. She gestured to the bartender assigned to their cabana for another one, and she didn't miss the way Santana and Quinn kept winking at her.

Matters were made even worse when Finn looked away to say something to Santana, and Puck took the opportunity to make a lewd gesture at Rachel as he gestured between her and Finn. Rachel rolled her eyes and flipped her middle finger up at him in response. He was honestly such a child sometimes.

Rachel was halfway though her second drink when Quinn exclaimed, "Let's get into the pool!"

"Can I bring my drink with me?" Rachel asked immediately.

"Fuck yeah you can," Santana said. "I'm bringing mine with me!"

"S." Quinn gave Santana a pointed look. "Can you cut it out with the F-bombs? It's a little excessive, even for you."

"Fuck no," was the immediate response to that request. Quinn and Rachel rolled their eyes simultaneously; they really shouldn't have expected anything different from Santana.

Drinks in hand, the group headed into the pool. Jake begged off to make a phone call to Marley, but the group didn't have a problem with being left with an odd number. Santana had already found a group of girls to hit on, and Puck had Quinn pressed into a corner of the pool as they made out.

"They're lucky they're getting married," Rachel muttered. "Otherwise, I normally wouldn't be this accepting of their excessive PDA."

Finn shrugged his shoulders. "I think it's sweet."

"What?" Rachel looked at him with wide eyes. "You think it's sweet when Quinn shoves her tongue down Noah's throat?"

"Well, no. Not that." Finn ran a hand through his damp hair, causing it to stick up in a hundred different directions. "I just meant… despite how much of a pain in the ass Quinn can be and how much an immature dick Puck can be, they love each other a lot and would do anything for each other. That much is obvious."

With her mouth dropped open in surprise, Rachel stared at Finn with wide eyes. She hadn't realized that Finn had noticed things like that. Finn, seeming to realize that Rachel was gaping at him, rubbed the back of his neck and shifted uncomfortably.

"What?" he asked.

Rachel managed to get a hold of herself long enough to respond. "Nothing. It's just… it's sweet that you noticed something like that."

Finn shrugged his shoulders again and reached for his drink, chugging half of it in one gulp. Rachel couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her, and she pressed her fingers to her mouth in an effort to hide her smile. Clearly, Finn didn't want anyone knowing that he had such a soft side—even Rachel, who had been one of his closest friends for years.

"So," Finn said once he set his beer aside. "That bathing suit is new."

It was yet another thing that Rachel didn't think Finn would have noticed. Did he really pay that much attention to what she wore? Did she care?

(Yes. As embarrassing as it was to admit, Rachel did care. It meant that he was noticing and paying attention to _her_ , and it made her heart flutter.)

Looking down at her bathing suit, Rachel flipped her hair over her shoulder and tried to act as casual as she possibly could. "It's just the one Quinn and Santana bought for me. Apparently, the one I brought isn't good enough or something."

Finn's eyes swept up and down her body, and Rachel was pretty sure that her blush reached all the way to her toes. "I like it," he said.

She had to press her lips together to keep her smile from getting too wide. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

The two of them stood there, smiling at each other for endless moments. A warm feeling was spreading through Rachel's chest, but for the first time in a long time, she didn't look away from Finn's steady gaze. He returned it, his cinnamon eyes warm and filled with something Rachel couldn't name.

"HEY!"

Turning to face the pool, Rachel ducked behind Finn just a beach ball came sailing towards them. Finn easily plucked it out of the air and launched it back towards Puck, the culprit of their disruption.

"Can you two knock it the fuck off?" Puck demanded as he neatly dodged the beach ball. It went flying into the pool and landed in the water with a soft plop. There was an annoyingly knowing look in his eyes, and both Finn and Rachel chose to ignore it. "We're here to party!"

Finn held his hand out to Rachel, and she took it with a smile. Together, they both ran off with the same thought in mind: they were definitely going to push Puck into the pool.

* * *

 **ten.**

Leaning towards the mirror, Rachel added one more coat of mascara before deciding that her makeup was acceptable. She stood back and studied her reflection in the mirror. She had a on a strapless, black, lace dress. It was rather tame for a clubbing dress, but Rachel loved the way it made her feel.

"It's about time you got ready to go," Santana announced. Of course, Santana's dress was completely outrageous. It was short, strappy, and metallic silver. Rachel pressed her lips together, but it didn't do much to hide her smile.

"Please, like you didn't just finish fixing your hair." Santana's raven hair was looking flawless as usual. She had done it in big, glossy curls, and Rachel knew from experience that it would look perfect even after hours of dancing and drinking at whatever club they ended up at. Rachel, on the other hand, had twisted her long hair up to keep it out of her face while they danced.

Santana leaned against the door and studied Rachel with an unnerving sense of understanding. "You look great, R," Santana finally said. "You know, Hudson isn't going to be able to keep his hands off of you tonight."

Shifting from one foot to the other, Rachel stared down at the floor and tugged at the hem of her short dress. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Rachel Berry." Santana stalked forward and grabbed Rachel's shoulders, forcing her to look up. "You have to stop with this shy shit. You're hot, okay? And you're funny and great and one of the best people I know. Finn Hudson needs to wise up and realize that the two of you should be together."

A smile spread across Rachel's face, and she threw her arms around Santana and hugged her tightly. Of course, that was the moment that Quinn came into the room. She saw Santana and Rachel hugging, and she shrugged her shoulders and joined in on the hug.

"I don't know why we're hugging, but I love you guys," Quinn announced.

"Ugh, damn it." Santana stomped her feet and shuddered for dramatic effect. "There are too many feelings happening right now. We need to drink!"

With that declaration, Santana disappeared into the suite, obviously on the hunt for the boys and some alcohol. Quinn and Rachel just laughed and hugged once again.

"Thanks for all of your help, R," Quinn said. "I would be going crazy during this wedding planning if I didn't have you as my maid of honor."

Rachel waved her hand dismissively. "Q, you're my best friend! Of course I'm more than happy to help. You know I love stuff like this, anyway."

"True. If your whole Broadway career doesn't work out, you can definitely become an event planner." Quinn linked arms with Rachel, and together they headed out into the suite so they could begin with their night of festivities.

"Oh, absolutely!" Rachel agreed. "Maybe Kurt and I could team up and start an event planning business."

Puck had caught the tale-end of their conversation, and he snorted. "You and Hummel would drive each other fucking insane and then you'd probably start a fight that would end in a fire."

"Why would it end in a fire?" Rachel demanded.

"Because you're both crazy," Puck stated.

Rachel's eyes narrowed and she started forward, but Quinn wrapped her arms around her best friend and held her there. "I know he's annoying, but I would like to marry him."

Puck puckered his lips at his fiancée. "You know you love me."

Reappearing from the bar, Santana clapped her hands together. "Where the hell is Hudson and Puckerman Jr.?" she demanded. "Let's get this show on the road."

Jake came out of the boys' side of the suite, having clearly heard Santana's comment. He just smiled and accepted the beer that Puck handed him. Finn wasn't far behind him. He had just finished buttoning his white dress shirt when he looked up and caught sight of Rachel.

She was at the bar, mixing a drink for herself before they left. So she completely missed the way Finn stopped in his track and openly gaped at her. Everyone else in the room watched in amusement as Finn visibly tried to get a hold of himself before Rachel turned around again

"The two of them are ridiculous," Puck mumbled under his breath.

Quinn let out a delicate snort. "They just need a push in the right direction, that's all."

Half an hour later, they group had arrived at the club. Santana had immediately taken over the dance floor while the boys went to get drinks. Rachel and Quinn stood off to the side of the dance floor, watching in amusement as Santana danced with both the men and then women surrounding her.

"This is going to be a great night," Quinn declared. "I can already feel it."

"If you say so," Rachel said. "This is your weekend, Q. Well, and Puck's, but I think he's just content getting drunk."

Puck caught the end of Rachel's statement and let out a whooping noise. "Damn right, I am!" he exclaimed. He set down a tray of shots in front of the girls, while Finn followed with another tray of drinks.

"Should we get Santana?" Jake asked.

"Nah," Quinn said. She laughed as Santana started making out with one of the women dancing with her. "She seems a little preoccupied at the moment. She'll catch up with us."

The group at the table took a round of shots, and then Quinn handed Rachel another one from the tray before taking a second one for herself. Rachel arched an eyebrow at her, and Quinn grinned. From the other side of the table, Puck catcalled, encouraging his fiancée. Together, Quinn and Rachel knocked back the second shot before Quinn jumped to her feet.

"Let's head out onto the dance floor!" Quinn declared.

Another hour and a half passed. Between the freely flowing alcohol and the dancing, it was safe to say that they were all having a great time. Everyone was well on their way to drunk. In fact, Santana and Puck were already there. They seemed to be having a competition with who could get the drunkest the fastest, and Quinn was gleefully encouraging both of them.

Rachel stood by the bar, holding the drink she had just ordered. She was content with just watching her friends for the time being. She did get a kick out of how completely ridiculous they were. Sometimes, she wondered why they were even allowed out in public.

Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, Finn joined Rachel at the bar with a beer dangling from his fingertips. He nudged her with his hip, and Rachel smiled and nudged him back. They stood in a comfortable silence for several long moments, and then Finn finished his beer and turned to Rachel.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked.

Rachel's head jutted back in surprise. "You hate dancing," she said instead of answering.

Finn shrugged, and the corner of his mouth ticked up in a half-smile. "Yeah, but you like to."

Well, that was all of the encouragement t hat Rachel needed. Squealing, she finished her drink and took Finn's hand before she towed him onto the dance floor.

Despite the fact that Finn had asked her to dance, Rachel couldn't help the giggle that escaped her when he started bouncing to the beat. Finn couldn't dance to save his life, but she always found it incredibly cute when he tried.

Rachel took Finn's hands and tried to guide him along with the music. She never understood how he could play the drums with such talent (it was a secret hobby that most of the athletic world didn't' know about), but had absolutely no sense of rhythm otherwise. Even though he knew that he was embarrassing himself, Finn was still having a great time—especially when Rachel turned around and put his hands on her hips to guide him to the beat.

Three songs played before they realized how much time had passed. More people had crowded onto the dance floor, pushing them farther back from the rest of their party. Neither of them really cared that much as Rachel turned and draped her arms around Finn's neck.

Maybe it was the atmosphere of the whole weekend, or maybe they had just been leading up to this for so long that there was no choice but for it to happen. The amount of alcohol they had consumed over the past couple of days probably had something to do with it to—really, it had removed the inhibitions just enough that Rachel didn't stop to think through what was about to happen. Either way, they ended up with their bodies pressed together with Rachel's lips a mere breath away from Finn's.

Rachel wasn't sure who moved first. All she knew was that one second, she and Finn were standing there. The next, their arms were wrapped around each other and their lips were fused together.

Locking her fingers in Finn's hair, Rachel melted against him. She felt like her entire body was on fire just from the touch of his lips on hers. His tongue slipped past her lips and Rachel gladly tangled hers with his, moaning against his mouth.

One hand slid to Rachel's bottom, and Finn's other hand gripped her waist. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Rachel was aware that they were standing in the middle of the club, making out. Finn seemed to have the same idea, because he tore his lips from hers and started towing her along.

It wasn't long before Finn was backing Rachel against a wall as his lips came down on hers again. Rachel's eyes opened long enough to see that they were in some kind of alcove in a hallway by the bathrooms, well out of sight from anyone else. Her eyes fluttered shut again as Finn moved his lips down her neck, gently biting and sucking.

Rachel clutched at his shoulders, arching up into his hands as one slid up her side. His thumb brushed the underside of her breast and Rachel moaned again. It caused Finn to easily lift her into his arms, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

She was almost surprised to feel his erection against her, but that shock was gone as soon as she shifted her hips against his. Finn was sucking on her collarbone, and she rolled her hips into his. Finn grunted and bit down on the soft skin, and she rubbed against him harder. When Finn's hips lifted into hers, she realized that they were having what amounted to dry sex in a club, where anyone could see them even though they were hidden away. They were still in public, but Rachel couldn't bring herself to care. It felt too good to stop, and Rachel honestly didn't want to.

"Finn," Rachel gasped. She felt like she was about to fly apart at the seams, and she needed more from him. She didn't know what, but she absolutely knew that she needed it. "I need… I need…"

Finn seemed to know exactly what she needed. He slid one hand up her thigh, rubbing gently before he reached between her legs. He stroked over the scrap of lace that she had worn as an excuse for panties that evening. Finn groaned against her neck when he felt just how wet she was. Finn had worked her up so much, and all she wanted in that moment was for him to make her come.

"Please, Finn," she panted again.

That was all Finn needed to slide his fingers past her panties and in between her folds. He slipped one finger inside of her, curling it in a way Rachel didn't know she needed. She moaned again, pressing her body as close to Finn's as she could get. Her hips shifted against his hand, and Rachel gripped his shoulders tightly.

When Finn pressed his thumb against her clit, Rachel cried out. Finn's lips immediately covered hers again, swallowing her moans as his fingers pumped in and out of her. It wasn't long before Rachel was clenching around his fingers as she came.

Slumping back against the wall, she was glad that Finn still had her pressed against it. She was almost positive she wouldn't have been able to stand had she been on her own two feet.

Finn's face was tucked into Rachel's neck again, and they were both panting as they tried to catch their breath. Rachel couldn't believe that she had just had one of the most intense orgasms of her life at the hands of Finn Hudson. She had been thinking about this for years, and it had finally happened.

Eventually, Finn lowered Rachel to the ground. They stared at each other for several long moments, and then Finn ducked down and kissed Rachel again.

The kiss wasn't as desperate as their previous ones had been. Finn's lips moved gently over hers, almost tenderly. One hand cupped her cheek and his thumb stroked against her skin. Rachel felt the kiss all the way down to her toes.

When Finn pulled back, he smiled at her. Then he took her hand, and together, they went back to the suite.

* * *

 **eleven.**

The sun streaming through the windows was the first thing that woke Rachel up. The second was the warm body she was plastered to. Rachel stretched and winced when she realized she had a slight headache and a serious case of cotton mouth.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty."

Rachel jumped and rolled over to find that Finn was already awake. Licking her lips, Rachel was hit with a sudden flash of what happened last night. Her cheeks flushed and she tried to get a hold of herself. It was admittedly hard to do when she was still half asleep.

"How long have you been awake?" Rachel asked.

"Only about ten minutes," Finn admitted. "I didn't want to wake you up too early."

Taking several long moments to just look at him, Rachel took in Finn's face. His eyes were still heavy with sleep, and his hair was sticking up in a million different directions. His cheeks were flushed, and he looked somewhere between the man he was today and the boy she had grown up with. It was oh so endearing—and in that moment, Rachel felt something inside her snap.

"You know," she said, suddenly. She looked away from Finn, as it was the only way that she could get the words out. "If you want to pretend like last night didn't happen… we can."

Finn blinked at her, as if he wasn't quite understanding her words. "…What?"

Clearing her throat, Rachel rolled over and looked at Finn. She couldn't quite manage to look him in the eye, but she did focus on his shoulder. "We don't have to talk about it," she told him.

"I…" There was a long, heavy pause. Rachel was sure that her heart was about to burst out of her chest, it was pounding so hard. Then, Finn exhaled slowly. "Okay," he whispered. He pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Rachel closed her eyes as he lingered, and she tried to embed that moment in her mind. "Okay."

They stayed in bed together for another ten minutes before Finn slipped out. Rachel pulled the blankets up to her chin and curled into a ball on her side. She closed her eyes and tried to forget the way Finn's fingers felt against her skin.

It wasn't long before Santana and Quinn joined her. They took one look at Rachel and climbed into bed on either side of her, crawling under the blankets with her. Santana brushed her hair back from her face while Quinn took her hand.

"Oh, Rachel," Quinn whispered. "It's going to be okay."

Somehow knowing that the three girls needed to be left alone, the boys didn't bother them all day. Quinn eventually ordered room service while Santana picked a movie. Rachel kept her head propped up on the fluffy pillow and only half-paid attention to whatever movie Santana had picked—it was some kind Disney animated movie.

Quinn pushed a pastry into Rachel's hand, along with a bottle of water. "Here. You need to eat something. And drink some water."

"I'm not hungover," Rachel protested. But she cracked open the bottle of water and took a long sip from it anyway. She picked at the flaky layers of the pasty and nibbled on it.

"So." Santana plopped down on the side of the bed and picked up a blueberry muffin. She tore it in chunks and shoved half of it into her mouth at once. "Are you going to tell us what happened last night? Although I think we can guess."

Frowning at their friend, Quinn shoved a napkin in Santana's hands. "You're disgusting. Can you please chew with your mouth closed?"

Unable to help herself, Rachel giggled at her two best friends' familiar back and forth. Santana and Quinn smiled, relieved that Rachel was displaying some of her usual humor. Santana was right—they could pretty much guess what had transpired the night before. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Rachel and Finn had hooked up, and Rachel was handling it in the only way she knew how… by running away.

"But really," Santana finally said. "Are you okay?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Rachel set the pastry aside and picked at the edge of the blanket. "I guess. I mean, I'll be fine. Eventually." She sighed heavily and flopped back on the bed once again. "I can't believe I did something so stupid!"

"What?" Santana shrugged her shoulders. "This isn't the first time you hooked up with someone at a bar."

"S!" Rachel glared at her dark-haired friend while Quinn threw a pillow at her. "You are so not helping!"

Quinn pushed Santana aside until she scooted off the bed. "Ignore her," Quinn said. "You're right. You will be fine."

"Yes, but Finn is the best man and Rachel is the maid of honor. They have to walk down the aisle and all that shit. You don't think that's going to bring up any awkward feelings?"

"You are no help at all!" Quinn exclaimed at Santana's words. "Honestly, S!"

Throwing her hands up in the air, Santana shook her head. "What? I'm just trying to be honest. Rachel has to realize what she's going into."

"Ugh." Rachel pulled one of the pillows over her face and sighed heavily. "S is right. But Q is right, as well. I will be fine. Finn will be fine. Everything will be just fine."

Smiling sadly, Quinn wrapped an arm around Rachel's shoulders. "Keep telling yourself that, R. You might just believe it."

Rachel grimaced and reached for her pastry again. Her appetite had suddenly returned, and it probably had something to do with her friends making her feel better. She ripped a chunk off and popped it into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry I ruined your bachelorette weekend, Q," Rachel said. She snuggled under the covers on the bed and reached for a cup of coffee on the tray containing their breakfast food.

Waving her hand dismissively, Quinn climbed back onto the bed and tucked herself in next to Rachel. "You didn't ruin it, I promise. I needed some bonding time with my girls, anyway. Puck was being needy."

Rachel snorted into her coffee cup and then laughed harder when Santana imitated her. She took a renewed interest in the movie as she sat between her two best friends. Everything may not have been perfect, but Rachel had a feeling that it was all going to work out in the end.

* * *

 **twelve.**

Looking up from her script, Rachel wasn't very surprised to see Finn standing in the doorway of her dressing room. She smiled at him, even if it was a tad bit awkward. In the week since their return from the joint bachelor/bachelorette party, Rachel and Finn had chatted a few times. She was trying her very best to make it seem as if nothing had changed between them, and Finn was honoring her wishes.

Finn hoisted the drink holder he was holding. Tucked between two coffee cups was a pastry bag as well. Rachel tucked her legs underneath her in her chair, holding her script against her chest as if it were a security blanket.

"Peace offering?" he said.

Despite the uneasiness between them, Rachel relaxed and smiled. She nodded her head and gestured for him to come in. He popped a coffee cup from the carrier and handed it to her, and she lifted it to her nose to see if she could guess what the drink was by smell. Another smile quirked her lips—it was a chai latte, her favorite.

"With almond milk and a shot of espresso," Finn said when he realized she knew what the drink was. "Just how you like it."

Rachel bit her lip and watched as Finn made himself comfortable on the small couch in her dressing room. He really did know her so well; it actually kind of amazed her sometimes. To her embarrassment, it made her fall even more in love with him. She had missed him, missed this.

He took a drink from his own coffee, and Rachel knew he was drinking a dark roast coffee, black. He never put anything in it, hadn't since college. She supposed it could be argued that she knew him just as well as he knew her.

Finn held up the pastry bag. "I also planned to bribe you with cranberry bliss bars."

Forgetting her earlier hesitation, Rachel squealed and clapped her hands together. She reached for the bag and opened it—sure enough, there was a cranberry bliss bar in there.

"How did you even get one of these?" Rachel asked. "They aren't going to be released for at least another two months!" They were Rachel's favorite pastry from Starbucks, so of course she knew when they were going to start handing them out. Seeing the look on Finn's face, Rachel's eyes narrowed. "You flirted with the barista, didn't you?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Finn broke off a corner of one of the pastries and popped it into his mouth. "It's worth it to see you smile."

Of course, that made Rachel's lips immediately part into a smile that she saved just for him. He really was too charming for his own good, and Rachel knew she was a complete goner when it came to Finn Hudson.

Looking down into her coffee cup, Rachel took a deep breath. "I'm sorry things have been so weird between us."

When Finn didn't say anything, Rachel chanced a glance up at him. He was waiting, simply watching her as she struggled to come up with the words to explain how she was feeling. Rachel shifted in her seat and finally set the script aside. Taking a deep breath, she made herself look Finn in the eye.

"I miss you. I miss hanging out with you. And I don't…" Rachel desperately didn't want to lose Finn. She would rather have him in her life as one of her closest friends than lose him altogether. "I don't want to lose you, Finn."

Finn immediately set his coffee aside and crossed the dressing room to Rachel. He knelt in front of her, reaching for her hands and taking them in his own. "Rachel, I promise that you will ever lose me." That half smile that Rachel so loved tilted Finn's lips up. "There's nothing that you could do that would ever make me leave."

Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she licked her lips. Rachel hadn't been this close to him since that night, and she was having trouble keeping her mind focused. Trying to lighten the mood, she said, "Even when I'm being annoying?"

"Even when you're being a pain in my ass," Finn agreed with a chuckle. He squeezed her fingers and stroked his calloused thumbs over the back of her hands. "We're okay, right?"

Rachel slid off of her chair and practically climbed into Finn's lap. She just couldn't help herself anymore—not since she knew what it was like to feel his lips on hers. She wrapped her arms around Finn, and she felt him relax completely as his arms came up and held her against him.

"Of course we are, Finn," Rachel murmured.

She didn't know how long they sat there, on the floor of her dressing room with their arms wrapped around each other. Rachel was sure that she could have sat there for hours, content in the feeling of Finn's arms around her.

Of course, Jon came bursting into the dressing room. "Rachel Barbara Berry, you have been avoiding me all week and it's about damn time you told me what happened at that bachelor/bachelorette party— _oh._ "

Rachel scrambled out of Finn's lap and climbed to her feet. She was positive that her entire face was bright red, and she gave Jon a pointed look and made a slashing motion with her hand while Finn was distracted by standing up.

"Hello, Jon," Finn greeted. Jon and Rachel had stared in several shows together (the critics loved the two of them on stage), so Finn had gotten to know Jon quite well over the years.

Jon nodded his head in greeting and leaned against the doorframe. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked between Finn and Rachel with both of his brows raised. "I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?"

"Of course not," Rachel said immediately. "Finn and I were just getting ready to go out and have a drink. Are you coming?" She would do just about anything to avoid rehashing the event of the party with Jon.

Naturally, Jon agreed. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief, and Finn smiled at her knowingly. Rachel's cheeks flushed again, and she was glad when Jon caught sight of the pastry bag and exclaimed, "Ooh, cranberry bliss bars!"

* * *

 **thirteen.**

It was four days to the wedding. Rachel just had to finish up this last day of work, and then she would have the next week off. Of course, it would hardly be a vacation—they had to do all of the prep for Quinn and Puck's wedding, after all.

Kurt was slowly driving them all insane, but Santana was keeping them well-supplied with alcohol in an effort to keep them somewhat in control of their mental faculties.

Now that Rachel was home-free, she was going to spend this night relaxing with a bottle of wine. This was the only night that she would get in a semi-quiet environment, and she was going to take advantage of it.

With a bottle of her favorite Moscato in hand, Rachel entered her apartment. The first order of business was to change into comfortable leggings and a t-shirt. There was nothing that Rachel was looking forward to more. She was busy trying to figure out what movie she wanted to watch as she made her way down the hall and towards her room, but she froze when she heard a noise come from her kitchen.

Moving slowly, Rachel backtracked and crept back through the living room and towards the kitchen. When she caught sight of a familiar head of messy brown hair, Rachel sighed loudly and planted her hands on her hips.

"Finn Hudson! What the hell are you doing? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Finn gave her a sheepish smile as he turned around. He was holding several take-out menus in one hand, and a bottle opener in the other. Despite Rachel trying to stay mad, she couldn't help but soften towards him. Honestly, it was really unfair how cute he was.

"Hey, Rach," he greeted. He crossed the kitchen towards her and dropped a kiss to her cheek. "I was just trying to pick which place to order pizza from. You said you like the crust this one has," he pointed towards one menu. "But you like the sauce this place has." He held up the other menu, and Rachel couldn't help but laugh and shake her head.

"Here." Rachel plucked a menu out of the pile and handed it to Finn. "Order the white pizza with the spinach and then whatever else you want. Did you buy another bottle of wine?"

Finn handed her a bottle of pink Moscato. "I bought your favorite," he told her. "But I didn't know you already had one. Are you sure you want me to stick around?"

Rachel thought about it for a moment. Sure, she was looking forward to a quiet night at home, but having Finn keep her company made her feel good. She wanted him there, and she found it incredibly sweet that he had bought her favorite wine and was ordering her favorite pizza.

"Of course I want you to stay," Rachel admonished. She pushed on his shoulder playfully and smiled at him. "You can pay for the pizza when it's delivered, after all."

Finn tried to pretend to be annoyed, but he didn't really succeed. They spent the night working their way through the two large bottles of wine and the three pizzas Finn ordered (one for her, one for him, and a plain cheese one just in case). Of course, Finn spent the night, but he made sure that Rachel was tucked in when she fell asleep on the couch.

The next morning, he made her breakfast. It was just scrambled eggs and toast, but it was still the thought that counted and it made Rachel feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. She refused to think too much of it and instead decided to just enjoy the moment. It ended up working out in her favor, because as soon as they were finished eating, Santana and Kurt descended upon her apartment and disrupted the peace.

Kurt whipped out a laminated poster board, seemingly out of nowhere. Since she hadn't had near enough coffee for this kind of bullshit so early in the morning, Rachel could only gape at Kurt as he started talking nonstop about their plans leading up to Puck and Quinn's wedding.

"Kurt." Finn leveled his brother with a pointed look. "Can you give it a rest? We've barely had time to wake up."

Kurt made a scoffing noise. "Finley, I don't wish to know about whatever dirty deeds you and Rachel got up to last night."

Santana choked on the coffee (spiked with Bailey's) that she had been drinking. Rachel's cheeks flushed a bright red and she immediately narrowed her eyes in a glare at Kurt. Finn just sighed and shook his head. He was used to his brother's crass comments over the years, and he had learned that the best reaction was no reaction at all.

As any wise man would do, Finn got the hell out of there before he could get pulled into the last-minute wedding planning. "I'll see you later, Rach," he said as he pushed back from the kitchen table. He pressed a parting kiss to Rachel's cheek, which only made her blush harder.

Finn said his goodbyes to Santana and Kurt and left Rachel to her fate. She envied Finn's ability to leave (she was sure that he was going to get Puck and then they would be headed towards a bar to watch whatever game was on that day). She especially envied it when Santana turned towards her with an evil, knowing look.

"Oh, well aren't the two of you just so domestic?" Santana simpered.

Rachel threw her balled-up napkin at Santana. "Shut up."

* * *

 **fourteen.**

After double-checking her makeup in the mirror one last time, Rachel deemed her appearance good enough to meet Quinn's standards of perfection. Today was the day: Quinn and Puck were getting married. They had started their day at seven o'clock in the morning and had been quite busy since then.

Unsurprisingly, Quinn, Santana, and Rachel were the calmest of them all. Quinn's mother was running around like a chicken with her head cut off, and Quinn's two aunts weren't much help either. Quinn sat with Santana and Rachel as they were getting their hair and makeup done, calmly sipping mimosas and sharing long-suffering looks between the three of them.

It was time for Quinn to step into her dress. They had about twenty minutes until they were due to walk down the aisle, and Quinn had wanted to wait until the last moment to step into her dress. Rachel was prepared to button Quinn into her dress, while Santana stood by with her phone, ready to take pictures.

Everyone was surprised when Quinn didn't go with the typical princess ball gown. Instead, she picked a fitted mermaid dress with a sheer back and a long row of pearl buttons. It was ridiculously gorgeous and insanely sexy. The second Quinn had stepped out of the fitting room, Santana and Rachel had known it was the one for her (Santana had even cried, even though she refused to admit it).

Rachel finished with the last button, and they stood back to look at Quinn. "Oh my god, Quinn," Rachel whispered. "You look amazing."

Nodding her head, Santana pressed her lips together and tired to pretend like she wasn't about to cry. Of course, Quinn and Rachel immediately noticed, but decided not to comment on it. Instead, Rachel hugged Quinn tightly, and Santana did the same thing she always did; she threw herself onto them and wrapped her arms around her two closest friends.

"I hate you bitches," Santana announced.

Rachel and Quinn immediately dissolved into laughter. Once it subsided, Quinn squeezed Rachel and Santana's hands and gave them a blinding smile.

"I can't thank you two enough for everything you've done," Quinn said.

Santana looked near tears again. "Shut the fuck up," she ordered, and Rachel reached over and squeezed Santana's free hand.

"Let's go get you married," Rachel said.

Five minutes later, Quinn was standing with her father, and Santana was already making her way down the aisle. As the wedding planner had ordered, Rachel counted to five in her head before she followed after Santana, stepping in time with the music. At first, Rachel took in all of the guests on either side of the aisle.

Then she looked up.

Finn was standing in the best man's position, right behind Puck. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo that it actually took her breath away. She managed to stop herself from reacting visibly, but her grip tightened around her bouquet. She knew that the doors were opening behind her to signal Quinn's entrance, but Rachel was incredibly aware of Finn's eyes on her.

Rachel took her place in front of Santana and held Finn's gaze for another long moment. Then she turned towards the aisle along with everyone else. Quinn was beaming, and the look on Puck's face was one that they would never forget

The ceremony was short but incredibly sweet, and then Puck and Quinn were being announced as husband and wife. Rachel met Finn in the middle of the aisle and they followed Puck and Quinn, with Jake and Santana coming up behind them.

Rachel looped her arm through Finn's as they made their way down the aisle. His hand covered hers, and he squeezed her fingers. They stayed that way until they made it to the country club across the street, where the cocktail hour and reception were being held.

Puck immediately handed Rachel and Finn drinks upon entrance. He made sure Santana and Jake got their drinks as well, and then he led them over to the bar, where Quinn was waiting. She was watching her new husband in amusement, but she took his hand and kissed his cheek soundly.

"Aren't you supposed to be taking a break or something? You just got married, dude. You shouldn't be serving us drinks," Finn said.

"It's my wedding day, and I can do whatever the hell I want," Puck retorted. He raised his glass above his head in a toast. "We're fucking married now!"

The group around cheered; they would all definitely drink to that. Setting his glass down, Finn wrapped an arm around Rachel's waist and tucked her into his side. Rachel did her best to relax as much as possible. They had stood like this together plenty of times over the years, but Rachel couldn't help but feel that it was different now.

Maybe it was because she now knew what it was like to have Finn's lips on hers. Or maybe it was because she had experienced the most intense pleasure of her life, just at his fingers.

Blushing, Rachel tried to push those thoughts away. She leaned into Finn's side instead and smiled up at him. He grinned down at her and squeezed her hip. Neither of them noticed the looks their friends exchanged.

Once cocktail hour was over, they headed into the reception. Everyone was already seated, and the wedding party was announced as they entered. They took their seats at the table in the front of the room, and then the real partying began.

Quinn and Puck shared a quiet first dance, and then the rest of their friends flooded the dance floor. Puck was a surprisingly good dancer, and he stayed with them for a few songs before disappearing to the bar with Finn.

The girls managed to drag Kurt out onto the dance floor for a couple of songs. He allowed himself to be distracted for exactly a song and a half before he claimed a wedding planner's job was never done.

The night went on in the same fashion. They danced, told stories, took full advantage of the open bar, and ate the delicious food. At one point, Rachel had found Puck with one of the pink drinks in his hand before she dragged him onto the dance floor with her. They were having so much fun that Rachel almost forgot about the drama between her and Finn leading up to the wedding.

That is, until Finn pulled her onto the dance floor.

"What is it with you and dancing now?" Rachel teased as Finn put a hand on her hip. She slid her other hand into the one he offered and tried not to shiver when his fingers wrapped around hers. He smiled at her as they began to sway slowly to the music.

"Rach, you're the only person I'll dance with," Finn told her. "Haven't you figured that out yet?"

Rachel's eyes shot to Finn, and it was only then that she realized how close their faces were. His amber eyes were open and honest, and then her eyes drifted down to his lips.

She wanted to kiss him, and Rachel knew all she had to was stretch up on her tiptoes and her lips would be on his.

But she didn't.

Rachel sighed and moved closer, pressing herself against Finn while she rested her head against his chest. She closed her eyes sand just enjoyed being in Finn's arms.

* * *

 **fifteen.**

Since she was still mostly asleep, Rachel wasn't entirely sure that someone was knocking at the door to her hotel room. She yawned and pulled herself out of bed, rubbing her eyes as she shuffled towards the door.

Puck and Quinn's wedding reception had gone into the early hours of the morning. Thankfully, they had planned ahead and had reserved a whole block of rooms at a nearby hotel. Once the night was over, Rachel was more than happy to change into pajamas and collapse in bed.

Rachel glanced at the clock and groaned when she saw it was only five o'clock in the morning. She had barely gotten three hours of sleep, and yet someone was still banging on the door to her room.

"What the hell—" Rachel began, but she stopped abruptly when she saw that it was Finn Hudson on the other side of the door. She should have known that it was him. There was no one else who would be knocking on her door this early in the morning.

"Hey," Finn murmured. He was dressed for sleep as well, in plaid pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt. When he took in her appearance, he couldn't help but smile. She was rumpled from sleep, and her hair was mussed on one side.

Yawning, Rachel leaned against the door and did her best not to fall asleep on the spot. "Finn, what's wrong?" she asked. It was too early in the morning for her to mince words.

Leaning forward, Finn placed both of his hands on either side of the doorframe. "You wanted to kiss me."

"What?" Rachel blinked and stood up straight. Apparently, Finn was going to get straight to the point. She was not awake enough for this, and it was taking her mind too long to catch up with what Finn was saying.

He walked slowly into the room, and Rachel instinctively started backing up. Finn kicked the door shut behind him and smoothly continued his advance towards Rachel. Swallowing hard, Rachel backed up until she felt the backs of her knees hit the edge of the bed. There was nowhere else to run, and Rachel didn't really want to.

"I saw you at the reception. You wanted to kiss me," Finn repeated. Rachel sat back on the bed and Finn leaned forward, planting his hands on either side of her.

Tilting her chin up, Rachel narrowed her eyes into a glare. "Did _you_ want to kiss _me_?" she demanded. Two could play this game.

Finn leaned just a fraction of an inch closer. He was close enough that she could feel his hot breath on her lips, but just enough out of reach that she wanted to grab him and close the space between them. Her chest heaved, and Finn's eyes dropped down for a split second before they caught her gaze again. Rachel felt a fiery blush spread across her cheeks and down her neck.

"I think you know the answer to that question," Finn murmured.

Rachel licked her lips as her body traitorously responded to Finn's nearness. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest as her body relaxed against the bed. "I want to hear you say it."

"Yeah, I want to kiss you," Finn said, his voice low.

Rachel reached forward and fisted Finn's shirt in her hands just as he closed the distance between them. His mouth covered hers in a deep, hot kiss and Rachel sighed in satisfaction. Finally, _finally_ they were together again.

Cupping one hand behind her neck, Finn leaned Rachel back against the bed and covered her body with his. His other hand slid up her side, pushing her shirt up. He didn't stop until his fingers brushed the underside of her breast, and Rachel moaned at the contact.

She slipped her hands under Finn's t-shirt and pulled up until she tugged it over his head. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she arched up, rubbing against the hardness that was between her legs, courtesy of Finn. Groaning, Finn dropped his face into the crook of Rachel's neck as his hips thrust up into hers.

Finn's mouth moved from hers and down to her neck, where he bit down on the sensitive, exposed flesh. His tongue soothed over each little bite, and Rachel stroked her hands up and down the strong muscles in Finn's back.

One hand slid down Rachel's body as he pulled her pajama bottoms and underwear off in one swift motion. Rachel shimmied the rest of her body up and onto the bed, pulling Finn with her. She shoved his pants down with one hand and was delighted to find that that was the only barrier between them. For the first time, Rachel pressed her naked skin against his and let out a breathy moan of satisfaction.

"Rachel," Finn murmured against the skin of her collarbone. He placed hot, wet kisses across it and then down to her breast. His tongue circled one pert nipple as Rachel's fingers laced into his hair. She was completely gone at this point, her mind nothing more than mush. Finn's touch lit her body on fire and anchored her to the earth all at the same time. It was a startling contrast that Rachel never wanted to end.

After slipping a condom on, Finn held himself over Rachel. She smiled at him and slipped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss him as he slid into her. She moaned against his lips, arching her body up under his.

They both tried to keep the pace somewhat measured, but they had been waiting too long for this moment. Finn's hips began snapping against Rachel's, and she wrapped her legs around his waist and held on for dear life. She could feel herself careening towards the edge, and she tilted her head back as Finn dropped hot, wet kisses to the delicate arch of her neck.

Her orgasm hit her out of nowhere, and Rachel bit down on Finn's shoulder as her body shook under his. Finn followed her over the edge, his hips jerking against her body before he settled over her.

Humming under her breath appreciatively, Rachel combed her fingers through his messy hair. His cheek was pressed against her breast, and he nuzzled against it. His fingers traced up and down her side gently, and Rachel tried not to focus on how that barely-there touch was making her feel. She did just have a mind-blowing orgasm, after all.

"Damn, Rach," Finn breathed. "You don't know how long I've been thinking about this."

She assumed that he was just talking about their night at the resort together, so she decided to not acknowledge that statement. She just made a noise in the back of her throat and closed her eyes, getting lost in the feel of Finn's fingers on her naked body. She tried to keep herself from shifting on the bed, but of course, Finn seemed to know exactly what she was feeling.

His fingers slipped between her legs, sliding through the wetness. He lifted his head, his eyes darkening immediately. Rachel's breath caught in her throat when he slid a finger inside of her. He was only there for a moment before he was lifting his wet finger to his lips and popping it into his mouth.

Just watching Finn do something so erotic was making Rachel's breath come out in heavy pants. Before she could grab him and kiss him again, he slid down her body and settled between her legs. As soon as his mouth was on her, Rachel didn't do much thinking.

* * *

 **sixteen.**

"Finn Hudson!"

Rachel half-heartedly tried to escape Finn's grasp, but it was clear that she didn't really want to. Instead, she tried to ignore him as she picked up a strawberry and popped it into her mouth. Of course, that only made Finn more intent on her mission.

"What?" He chuckled against the skin of her neck as his hands slid under the t-shirt she was wearing—the t-shirt that she had borrowed from him, as a matter of fact. She wasn't wearing anything under it, so it was easy for Finn to slide his hands up her body and cup her breasts.

Rachel reached for a blueberry next. "You're trying to distract me. I told you that you had to be on your best behavior."

"Why?" His large hands started to massage her breasts, and Rachel sucked in a slow breath through her nose in an effort to keep herself calm. It was so unfair that he had such an effect on her, honestly. "There's no one to misbehave around here. Other than you, that is. And you seem to like it when I misbehave."

Rachel made a noise in the back of her throat that was neither denied or confirmed his statement. She could feel the wetness pooling between her legs and hoped that she could keep Finn from finding out for at least another couple of minutes.

Finn nibbled gently on her collarbone as he continued his slow, sensual assault on her body. "Besides, I put pants on. That's behaving, right?"

That made Rachel laugh outright. "Please, Finn, I would hardly call your boxer shorts pants." Though the man did look damn fantastic in them.

Finn's fingers started plucking at Rachel's right nipple, and she bit down on her bottom lip hard to keep from moaning. Knowing that he was getting to her, Finn pinched the nipple between his fingers and pulled.

A gasp did escape Rachel's lips that time. She retaliated by swiping her finger through the bowl of whipped cream and lifting it to her lips. Knowing full well that Finn was watching her every movement, Rachel slowly licked the whipped cream off of her finger.

Finn spun Rachel around and pressed her against the kitchen counter, keeping her there by pressing his thigh between her legs. He hiked the large t-shirt Rachel was wearing over her shoulders. With some clever twisting of the shirt, he trapped her arms behind her back and smirked when she realized she was his captive.

Rachel tugged against her restraints and pouted, but she knew that Finn would release her if she really wanted to. The truth was, it was actually really exciting and was only turning her on even more. Deciding that he needed to know just how much he was turning her on, Rachel shifted slightly until her center was pressed against Finn's thigh. She started slowly rolling her hips, and Finn groaned when he realized just how wet she was.

Unable to hold back anymore, Finn kissed Rachel deeply, his tongue plunging into her mouth. She pressed her body against his, her hard nipples coming in contact with his bare chest. Rachel continued to rock her hips against his hard thigh as Finn's fingers rolled and pinched her nipples.

Being pressed against the counter with her arms trapped behind her back as Finn continued to lay deep, passionate kisses on her lips was setting Rachel's body on fire. Their little foreplay session earlier almost had Rachel coming as it was, and the pressure against her clit as Finn continued to play with her breasts was almost too much to bear.

Rachel ground down on Finn's thigh harder, and he shifted just enough that she hit the perfect spot. Finn pinched her nipple again, and it was enough that she went flying over the edge. She cried out against Finn's lips as she came, fisting her hands in his hair.

It took Rachel a few moments to come down from her high. Her body tingled pleasantly, and she pushed on Finn's chest until he took the hint and stepped back. Smiling up at him and fluttering her eyelashes, Rachel sank down onto her knees and tugged on Finn's boxer briefs until they fell to the floor.

Rachel wrapped her fingers around Finn's hard cock and ran her fist up and down it a few times before her tongue snuck to lick at the tip. Finn made a choking noise in the back of his throat as Rachel let her hand fall away and slowly engulfed his cock.

Finn's hand fell to her hair, his fingers tangling through the silky strands. "Fuck, Rach," he groaned.

Feeling an extreme amount of satisfaction, Rachel let her tongue stroke on the underside of Finn's dick before she slid back up. She set a rhythm bobbing up and down, and it was working her up so much that she couldn't help but slide her hand between her legs. Finn watched with wide eyes as her mouth slid up and down his cock while her own fingers circled her clit.

Rachel moaned around Finn's cock as she rolled her hips against her hand. Finn's hips jutted forward and she engulfed more of his hardness, and he groaned again. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up, and it appeared Finn agreed with her, because he pulled away from her and was suddenly sweeping her up into his arms. He deposited Rachel onto the counter before he spread her legs apart and swiftly slammed into her.

Screaming in pleasure was the only response that Rachel could come up with. It was only a few thrusts before Finn was coming hard, his hips jutting erratically against Rachel's. He had slipped his hand between her body right before then, pressing his thumb to her clit as he continued to thrust in and out of her. For the second time, Rachel felt her orgasm come out of nowhere, and she clutched as Finn's shoulders as she came.

With Finn still inside of Rachel, they stayed pressed against the counter as they tried to recover. Rachel kept her forehead pressed against Finn's shoulder as she slowly breathed in and out through her nose. This was the best sex she had ever had in her entire life, and it was Finn Hudson who was giving her multiple orgasms. If someone had told her that this is what her life would be like three months ago, she would have laughed her ass off.

Finn's large hands stroked up and down her naked back, aiding in relaxing her further. He remained pressed inside her, and Rachel would never have guessed how much she enjoyed remaining connected to Finn in such in an intimate manner, even after the sex was over.

Then Finn's hands were brushing against the sides of her breasts. Rachel let it go for a few moments, but then his calloused fingers were brushing over her nipples again. Despite the multiple orgasms, Rachel felt the pull in her body, but she slapped her hands away.

"Finn Hudson!" she scolded. "Stop trying to turn me on again!"

"Why?" Finn's eyebrows wriggled, and he moved her hips against hers. "Is it working?"

Rachel wasn't about to admit that it most certainly was, so she was thankful when she heard her phone chime on the counter top. She managed to reach just far enough to snag it, and wasn't exactly surprised to find that it wasn't the first time her phone had gone off. Rachel had been otherwise occupied, after all.

Naturally, it was Quinn informing her that she and Puck had returned from their honeymoon, and they were on her way to her apartment with pizza and beer. When Rachel caught sight of the time the message was sent, however, she very nearly freaked out.

"Oh my god!" she shrieked. She pushed on Finn's chest until he stepped back and slipped from her. His eyes sparkled with amusement as Rachel jumped off the counter and yanked his shirt back over her head. She scooped Finn's boxer briefs off of the floor and pressed them to his chest, before she swept her arm across the counter and dumped all of fruit—dishes and all—into the trash can.

"Rach?" Finn questioned. His lips were lifted in a half smile, but Rachel tried not to focus on how adorable she was. She couldn't afford to get distracted when their best friends were on the way, after all.

"Quinn and Noah are going to be here any minute!" Rachel exclaimed. "We have to get ready!"

With that, she ran into her room in an effort to make it look like she hadn't just had fantastic sex on the kitchen counter. She changed back into the sundress she had been originally wearing (the one that had started the first round of sex against the wall in the living room when Finn had arrived), and ran a brush through her hair before she ran back out into the kitchen and began to push Finn towards the bedroom.

"Finn! You have to get dressed! And stop laughing!"

Of course, that only made Finn laugh harder. He did go into her room, however, and he emerged forty-five seconds later fully dressed. Rachel was still running around, trying her best to make the apartment look as nice as possible. It had been nearly spotless to begin with, but Rachel felt like she had something to hide for some reason.

None of their friends knew that Rachel and Finn had gone from friends to friends with benefits. It had only been a week and a half, but Finn and Rachel had barely surfaced from whichever apartment—his or hers—they were having sex at. Rachel couldn't even begin to describe what their relationship was, and she wasn't about to ask him. She was going to keep the best sex of her life going for as long as she could without complicating it too much.

"Rach, baby." Finn slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her towards him. "You have to relax." Before she could protest, Finn ducked down and pressed his lips to hers in a hard, passionate kiss.

Just as he pulled away from her, there was a knock at Rachel's front door. She squealed and patted Finn on the chest as she ran towards the door. Even though she was nervous that they would somehow figure out that she and Finn were sleeping together, Rachel was excited to see their closest friends after their honeymoon.

"Quinn! Noah!" Rachel greeted excitedly as she pulled the door open. She threw herself into Quinn's arms and hugged her tightly. Quinn laughed and hugged her back before releasing her to greet Finn. Rachel hugged Puck and kissed his cheek before she stepped aside and let them into her apartment.

True to their word, Quinn and Puck came bearing pizza and beer. They set the pizza boxes on the coffee table and opened beers, passing one to Finn and Rachel each. Finn sat on the couch and Rachel joined him, careful not to sit too close to him. Quinn and Puck were hardly playing that much attention, though, as they were currently sharing the only armchair that Rachel owned. It didn't stop Finn from smirking obviously, however.

"So, how was the honeymoon?" Rachel asked.

"And did you bring us any presents?" Finn added.

Rachel rolled her eyes, but Quinn laughed. "Of course we brought you all presents. They're out in the car."

"The honeymoon was fucking great, by the way," Puck said. "We barely left the hotel room the whole time." He gave Quinn and especially lewd look and thrust his hips towards her. Now it was Quinn's turn to roll her eyes, but Finn and Rachel hardly noticed since they were too busy exchanging heated looks. They could relate to not leaving a room for an entire week and a half.

Quinn pressed her lips together, and Rachel's eyebrows shot up. She knew that look. She had seen that look many, many times over the years. Quinn needed to talk about something, and she was barely able to hold it in.

"Puck, why don't you go down to the car with Finn and get the presents?" Quinn suggested. Rachel took a long sip of her beer in an effort to hide the smile that formed on her lips. She had definitely known that was going to happen.

Puck jumped up from the couch and gestured for Finn to follow him. "Fuck yeah. Dude, I can give you all of the dirty details."

"Please don't!" Quinn exclaimed as the boys left the apartment. She shook her head, but she was smiling the entire time. Quinn truly did love Noah Puckerman, and it was something that the rest of them would never truly be able to figure out.

Once the boys were gone, Rachel wedged herself into the armchair Quinn was still sitting in. They wrapped their arms around each other, and Quinn rested her head against Rachel's shoulder. The two best friends sat in silence for several long moments, but Rachel knew that Quinn would start talking once she was comfortable enough.

"I think I might be pregnant," Quinn finally said.

" _What?_ " Rachel sat straight up and stared down at Quinn. "Oh my god. Are you sure?"

"I'm late. Like, super late," Quinn admitted. "And I've made more trips to the bathroom than I care to admit. Apparently, the morning sickness is starting early."

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked. "Did you take a pregnancy test yet?"

"Not yet." Quinn sighed and covered her face with her hands. "I haven't even said anything to Puck yet. I'm not even sure, but I just have this… feeling."

Rachel smiled and hugged Quinn tightly around the shoulders. "Well, you know your gut feelings have a freakish tendency to be right. Remember that time you knew Santana was going to get into every law school she applied to? And that time you knew that Finn was going to score the final goal the last game they played seconds before he actually did it."

"So you're saying I could be pregnant than?"

"Yeah, probably."

When Quinn huffed out a sigh, Rachel couldn't help but dissolve into laughter. She hugged Quinn again and patted her cheek. Despite the anxiety that Quinn was surely feeling, Rachel knew that she and Puck were going to be just fine. They would make amazing parents, after all.

"Come on, Q!" Rachel exclaimed. "It's going to be okay. You're going to have tan, blonde little babies with Noah and the two of you are going to be great parents. Stop worrying!"

Quinn peered at Rachel from over her fingers. "Do you really think so?"

"Of course."

Finally, Quinn relaxed. She studied Rachel for a long moment, and a crinkle between her eyebrows appeared. "R, have you gotten laid?"

Rachel's cheeks went fire engine red, and she called on her acting skills to remain as calm as possible. "Not recently, no," she said carefully.

"You sure about that?" Quinn peered at Rachel, watching her for signs that she was lying. "You just said that my gut feelings are normally right, after all."

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "It must be your pregnancy hormones throwing everything out of whack, then."

That did the trick. Quinn closed her eyes and groaned. "Ugh, R! What the hell am I supposed to do? Puck and I are barely functional as it is. How are we supposed to raise a whole person?"

Smiling, Rachel hugged Quinn again. "You guys will figure it out, just like you always do. You did manage to get the man to the altar, after all. It's going to be fine."

* * *

 **seventeen.**

A week later, Quinn's pregnancy had been officially been confirmed by a doctor. Puck, of course, had barely been able to keep it a secret. He had last all of ten minutes before he sent out a mass text to their friends, and then a celebratory trip to the bar was quickly organized for that night.

Quinn sat perched on a bar stool with Puck's arm wrapped around her waist, pouting as she watched everyone drink. Puck would just laugh and distract her with kisses and offers to fetch whatever she was craving.

Santana ordered two tequila shots and knocked them back, one after the other. "Don't worry, Q," she told her. "Since you can't drink, I'll just have to get drunk enough for the both of us."

Quinn thought about that for a long moment before she grinned. "Strangely enough, that somehow makes me feel better. Continue."

Waving her hand at the blonde bartender, Santana ordered two more shots and a beer. She turned her dark eyes on Rachel then, pinning her with a knowing look. "You've gotten laid recently, haven't you, R?"

Shit. Rachel's cheeks flushed, and she was glad that it was dark enough in the bar that no one noticed. She and Finn still hadn't revealed anything about whatever their relationship was to their friends. It wasn't that she was nervous for how they would react; it was more that Rachel wanted to be sure that this wasn't just a passing fling for Finn.

Quinn slapped her hand on the bar. "I thought the same thing, but she denied it!"

A laugh that was only half-hearted escaped from Rachel's lips. "You guys are crazy," she said. "You know that you two would be the first to know if I was getting regularly laid."

Of course, that statement made Rachel feel immediately guilty. She missed the knowing look that Santana and Quinn shared, but she was distracted when Finn suddenly appeared at her side. He must have seen her desperate look from where he had been standing with Puck at the other end of the bar, and he was quick to come to her aid.

"So how are you feeling, Quinn?" Finn asked. "Puck said your doctor's appointment went okay." As he spoke, he pressed his hand to the small of Rachel's back, discreetly keeping it out of the view of Santana and Quinn. Rachel immediately relaxed at Finn's gentle touch, and she had her smile behind her glass she took another sip of her rum and Coke.

Thankfully, that question distracted Quinn enough, and she started talking about all of the different baby-related things she had learned during her doctor's appointment. Santana, meanwhile, tuned Quinn out completely and ordered another round of shots. She shoved one into Rachel's hand and waggled her eyebrows.

"Lemon drops, since you can't handle tequila." She pushed the lemon towards Rachel and nodded in encouragement.

Rachel rolled her eyes, but she knocked the shot back and placed the lemon wedge between her lips, sucking on it. She could feel a heated gaze on her lips, and she was very aware of the fact that Finn was staring at her. She tried to keep the smile off her face as she set aside the shot glass and used lemon wedge.

"Come on, Hudson," Santana said. She handed him yet another shot glass full of dark liquid that had Rachel wrinkling her nose. "Catch up with us. Don't be such a pussy."

Finn glared at her and, without asking what the drink was, took the shot. He immediately scrunched up his face in disgust, and it had Rachel bursting out into laughter. He scrambled for his beer and chugged half of it in one go in an effort to get rid of the disgusting taste in his mouth.

"Damn it, Santana! You know I hate Jäger." She smirked at him, and he flipped his middle finger up at her in response. Rachel, on other hand, couldn't stop herself from giggling. She hated Jäger too, but that didn't stop her from laughing at the look on Finn's face.

He looked down at her with heated eyes, and it was clear that he intended on getting her back later, when they were alone. Rachel had a feeling that she was going to like whatever "punishment" she would be in for, and she licked her lips in response.

Something snapped in Finn, and, still staring into her eyes, he announced that he was going to go to the bathroom. Rachel might have been oblivious sometimes, but she wasn't missing the signal he was clearly giving her. She waited all of forty-five seconds before she made up some reason to excuse herself, and followed Finn into the dark hallway near the bathrooms.

A strong, familiar hand closed around her wrist, and Rachel found herself pressed against a hard, muscular chest. She smiled, even though it was hard to see in the little alcove Finn was hidden in. Pressing her hands to his chest, she curled her fingers into the material of his flannel shirt.

"You have got to stop teasing me like that," Finn murmured, his voice rough.

Rachel hadn't been aware that she was teasing him, but that wasn't going to stop her now. She pressed her body against his, arching her back slightly. "Teasing? I didn't think I was really doing anything."

Finn ducked his head into her neck, pressing his lips against the delicate skin there. "Just being near you…" he murmured. He bit down lightly, and Rachel gasped, tilting her head back to allow him more access.

His hands were at her waist and she slid her own up his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her fingers slid into his hair as she lifted his head and brought his lips towards hers. The kiss became heated quickly, all lips and tongues, but they were both already feeling the buzz of the alcohol and didn't really care.

Sliding his hands under her ass, Finn lifted Rachel up and pressed her against the wall. Her legs wound around his waist as she kissed him again, and his arousal pressed directly against her center. She sighed as she used his shoulders for leverage and rubbed against him.

There was a distant voice in the back of her head—the sane part of her—that was chanting that she was in the middle of a public place and she really shouldn't be doing this right now. Rachel let their hard, passionate kisses go on for a few minutes before she eased herself back from Finn, licking at her swollen lips.

"We can't do this right now," she panted. Her body was on fire and she just wanted to feel Finn against her, inside of her, but she couldn't. Not when all of their friends were fifteen feet away, probably wondering where they had both disappeared to. They weren't exactly doing a great job of hiding their little arrangement.

Finn's lips hovered above hers, and his hands tightened at her waist. "I know," he breathed, before he kissed her again.

Rachel moaned against his lips and savored this last moment together before they could go back to his apartment. She was so going to have her way with him tonight, and from the look on Finn's face, he knew it too.

By some miracle, none of their friends said anything when Finn and Rachel joined them at the bar again. Rachel sat with Quinn and Santana, laughing as Santana tried to scare Quinn with stories of dramatic births. Finn stood at the other end of the bar with Puck, Kurt, and Kurt's boyfriend Blaine Anderson. He kept shooting her heated looks, and Rachel was doing her best to ignore him. It didn't' stop her from smiling, though, so Finn knew that she was definitely enjoying it.

Rachel did notice when a raven-haired girl pressed herself against Finn and started blatantly flirting with him.

She was wearing nothing more than a scrap of lace that was a poor excuse for a dress, and it was clear that she and her friends some sort of hockey groupies. Finn, ever a friendly and nice man, was doing his best to put a stop to her advances without being rude.

That didn't stop Rachel from being one hundred shades of jealous, though.

She grunted at the bartender and ordered another round of shots, pushing one towards Santana so she didn't have to do them alone. Resolutely looking away from Finn and the hockey groupies, she took the shot and slammed the glass back onto the bar. Unbidden, her eyes flicked towards Finn again, where he was trying to extract himself from the girl's arms, but she was being insistent.

Kurt, who was already drunk, was flirting heavily with Blaine and was practically sitting in his lap. Puck was watching Finn struggle with hockey groupies in amusement. While it was true that both of them were kind of man whores back in the day, Puck had never seen Finn turn down an advance from a girl who was so obviously trying to hit on him.

Then Puck looked across the bar and caught the look on Rachel's face. He knew it was time to stop messing around, and he skillfully put himself between Finn and the hockey groupies. Rachel couldn't hear what he said, but it worked, because they shuffled away, looking dejected. Puck slapped Finn on the back and ordered another round of drinks, and Rachel's shoulders finally relaxed.

Quinn watched the whole exchange and ordered another shot for Rachel, followed by a mixed drink. Sure, she was going to end up playing the sober driver to these idiots tonight. But they were her idiots, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

 **eighteen.**

Rachel woke up naked, with her face pressed to her living room carpet.

An equally naked Finn was pressed to her back, with his arm wrapped around her waist. Squinting her bleary, heavy eyes, Rachel saw that their clothes were strewn all around her living room: over the back of the couch, across the coffee table, and even her bra was hanging off of the lampshade.

She couldn't really bring herself to care, since she knew she had some damn good sex last night. Her body was sore in all of the right places, and she stretched in satisfaction against Finn. They had barely made it through the front door before Finn had pressed her against the wall and they were tearing at each other's clothes.

Rachel turned in Finn's arms and was mildly surprise to find that he was still asleep. He was generally the first one awake when they were together. Her eyes drifted over the peaceful lines of his face and down to his neck, where an impressive hickey had formed.

Feeling her cheeks flush, Rachel closed her eyes. Her jealousy had gotten the best of her last night, but she didn't exactly regret it. She sighed deeply through her nose and tried to fight off the first signs of her hangover before she forced her eyes open again.

Reaching out, she gently pressed the pads of her fingers against the hickey. The slight pressure of her touch caused Finn's eyes to open, and he smiled down at her.

"Morning, sunshine," he greeted.

Rachel groaned and rolled her eyes. "I don't _feel_ like sunshine," she grumbled. Finn only chuckled in response, which served to annoy her further. If he didn't have a hangover, she might have to do some ass-kicking.

Finn's arms tightened around her waist, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Hey." A smirk formed on his lips, and Rachel became even more annoyed when she realized that it was turning her on. "You're naked."

"Oh, look at that. You sure are an observant one, Finn Hudson." Rachel sat up and stretched her arms over her head, purposefully drawing out the movement. Finn's eyes zeroed in on her breasts, and her nipples were already growing hard under his heated gaze.

Bringing one hand down, she stroked between her breasts before her finger circled one nipple. Finn licked his lips and then cleared his throat, forcing his eyes back up to hers.

"We should probably talk about last night," Finn told her. He resolutely tried to keep his gaze locked on hers, but Rachel knew that he was struggling not to look down at the way she was touching herself.

Rachel sighed, but it was more of breathy, pleasure-filled sigh. "Do we have to talk about it right now?" she asked. "I could think of much better things that we could be doing."

"Right." Unable to help himself, Finn's eyes drifted back down to Rachel's breast. She had taken one in her hand was now massaging it, and she pressed her thighs together. She could see Finn getting hard, and she tried to keep the satisfied smile off of her lips. "But we still need to talk about this."

He pointed to the hickey on his neck, and despite herself, Rachel's cheeks flushed again. Yeah, she knew that they had to talk about her little display of territory, but she didn't really want to at the moment. It was true, what she had said earlier. She could think of other, better things that they could be doing, and she really wanted to do it.

So, in an effort to distract Finn further, she kept one hand on her breast and trailed the other between her legs. Knowing that she was sitting in front of Finn, touching herself like this, was more than enough to turn her own. She slid her fingers through the wet slickness between her legs, moaning as her thumb pressed against her clit.

"Fuck…" Finn breathed out. It was clear that her little distraction technique had worked, but that was far from her mind now. It felt too good, and Finn's groans of encouragement were egging her on.

Her eyes had fluttered close as she slid one finger inside of herself, but they opened when she heard Finn moan. He had wrapped a hand around his cock, pumping up and down in time with the thrusts her own fingers were making.

The room was filled with her breathy moans and his groans and grunts. Rachel's hips rocked forward as she swiveled her thumb over her clit again. She was so, so close, and watching Finn jerk himself off as she touched herself was nearly enough to send her over the edge.

Then Finn's hand reached out and wrapped around Rachel's wrist. He tugged her hand from between her legs and lifted her wet fingers to his lips, popping one into his mouth. Rachel gasped, and for one long moment, Finn looked truly torn; he wasn't sure if he wanted to be inside of her, or if he wanted to taste her first.

Rachel shifted restlessly, unwilling to wait for Finn to make his decision. Slowly, Rachel rose to her knees, her body on fire under Finn's gaze. She turned towards the coffee table, reaching over to grab the opposite edge of it as she lifted her ass enticingly in the air. Finn cursed again as he got on his knees behind her and ran his hand down her spine. She arched her back into his touch, and then he was inside of her.

Rachel screamed and dropped her head to the cool wood of the coffee table. Her fingers wrapped around the edge of the table as Finn's large hands gripped her waist, setting a hard, fast pace. She spread her legs further, her knees pressing into the carpet of her living room floor.

"Fuck, Finn!" Rachel cried. "Harder!" The plea escaped her before she could really think about it, but Rachel was quick to realize that she _did_ want it harder. She wanted Finn to mark her as she had marked him the night before, and she wanted to feel him come inside of her—the ultimate mark.

Rachel wasn't sure if she was just being stupid, or if this really meant what some part of her hoped it did. She was on the pill, but of course she knew that it wasn't one hundred percent effective. Finn hadn't seemed to have the presence of mind to get a condom, either.

When Finn reached around to grab a hold of her breast, twisting her nipple between her fingers, those thoughts were instantly pushed from Rachel's mind. She cursed again, thrusting her hips back into Finn as he pounded into her. She had already been so on edge for their little round of foreplay before, so it wasn't long before she was tightening around him and flying over the edge, almost crying his name.

Finn's hands clamped down on her hips again as he pumped into her once, twice more before he jerked against her, coming hard. Rachel collapsed against the coffee table, breathing hard as her body tingled for the insane pleasure she had just experienced. Finn's body covered hers as he rested against her without settling all of his weight on top of her. She relished in the feel of his warm body covering hers, and she hummed appreciatively.

It was only a few moments before Finn's hands were tracing up her sides. "We really need to talk about this," he reiterated.

Rachel sighed and turned her face so she could see Finn over her naked shoulder. "I know," she agreed.

Carefully, Finn separated their bodies and then pulled Rachel into his arms, kissing her gently. She settled back against him, and he kissed her again before he reached for his boxer briefs and pulled them on. He looked around until he found his flannel button down from the night before, which had somehow ended up draped over the television.

Rachel's eyebrows shot up when he handed it to her, and Finn grinned sheepishly. "I can't concentrate when you're naked," he admitted.

Smiling shyly, Rachel slipped the shirt over her shoulders and did the two buttons in the middle. Taking her hand, Finn led her towards the couch. They settled onto it as close as they could while sitting next to each other, and Rachel turned so her legs were draped over Finn's lap.

"Were you jealous last night?" Finn asked suddenly. His words were careful, as if he had thought about them for a while. It occurred to Rachel that he had been thinking about how to broach this conversation with her before they both had gotten spectacularly drunk the night before.

She sighed. She could lie, but she knew that Finn would know almost immediately. He was one of the people that knew her best in the world, after all. "Yeah, I was," she admitted. She didn't elaborate further, and Finn didn't press her to.

His hands began stroking over her bare legs. "I wouldn't have done anything with her, you know," he told her. "I didn't want to."

Finally, Rachel looked up at Finn long enough to catch his eyes. "I know," she said quietly. Somewhere deep inside of her, Rachel knew that Finn wouldn't have gone off with the hockey groupie from the bar, despite the opportunity she presented. "But that didn't mean you couldn't have if you wanted to."

Finn's brow furrowed, and his hands stopped stroking her legs. "But I didn't want to," he repeated, as if Rachel was missing something. "I won't want to. With anyone else."

Rachel blinked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"What are _you_ talking about?" Finn pushed Rachel's legs off of his lap and turned on the couch so that he was facing her directly. "What do you mean, that I could have if I wanted to? I don't want to! I'm with you, Rachel!"

"But…" Rachel pressed her lips together and fiddled with the buttons on Finn's shirt. Somehow, without either of them realizing it, this was going to be the conversation where they would define what they were doing. "What does that mean?"

Finn stared at her for a long moment before realization suddenly dawned. For a split second, Rachel wasn't sure what he was going to do. He could have bolted, or he could have made his dramatic declaration of love. Rachel could see it going both ways, honestly.

But she hadn't expected him to start laughing.

Rachel shoved her palm against his chest. "What the hell, Finn!"

Still laughing, Finn drew Rachel into his arms and kissed her. "You silly girl," he said. "I don't want to be with anyone else but you. You're my girl."

With that knowledge, Rachel kissed him again before she jumped out of Finn's arms. "I'm starving, and we need to go get brunch. By the way, I'm pretty sure you fucked away my hangover."

Finn started laughing again, and Rachel smiled brightly.

* * *

 **nineteen.**

Settling back into her chair, Quinn groaned as she accepted the container of nachos Santana offered her. "I swear to god, Puck is obsessed with this thing." She pointed to the small baby bump that had recently appeared. The New York Rangers jersey that she was wearing (complete with Puck's name emblazoned on the back of it) was her old one. As such, it was tight across the bump, and it was completely obvious to everyone in attendance that Quinn Puckerman was pregnant.

"It's pretty cute," Rachel agreed from the other side of Quinn. She swiped one of the nachos from the container Quinn was holding, despite the death glare the blonde shot her. Rachel straightened out her own New York Ranger's jersey, one that had Finn's last name printed on the back of it. She had been wearing it for years, since before she and Finn had even started messing around together.

"It's not just that," Quinn said. "He's horny all the damn time! Even more horny than I am! And the bump is making it worse, I swear."

Santana shrugged her shoulders. She had zero sympathy for their friend. "Own it, Q," she suggested.

Quinn rolled her eyes and turned back towards the game that was taking place in front of them. Puck and Finn were an incredible team on the ice, and they already had a two point lead over the opposing team. Rachel cheered when Finn successfully blocked another player and sent him careening into the wall.

Sure, she wasn't typically one for violence. But there was just something so sexy about watching Finn play hockey.

Once the game was over, the girls headed down to the locker room to meet the boys, as they always did. Santana was distracted by her phone—she was texting the blonde bartender from when they had gone out to celebrate Quinn's pregnancy—and Quinn was busy fielding questions about the baby from the press. That left Rachel standing to the side, waiting for the boys to come out from the locker room.

Puck came out first, and he gave Rachel a quick hug and kiss on the cheek in greeting before heading towards Quinn to help her with the press. Finn followed soon after, and he surprised her by taking her hand and towing her to where the coaches were standing.

In the month since their little conversation, they hadn't exactly revealed to anyone that they were in a relationship. Most of their time was spent locked up with one another, preferably naked. Finn called it "making up for lost time," and Rachel certainly wasn't about to complain.

"Coach," Finn said. He planted Rachel in front of him and put his hands on her shoulders. "I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Rachel Berry."

The coach looked amused, and he Rachel could vaguely hear him say something to Finn about how he already knew Rachel Berry. Ignoring him, Rachel turned in Finn's arms and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Girlfriend?" she repeated.

Finn was grinning, but before he could respond, Puck let out a whoop. "Did I just hear you fucking call her your girlfriend?"

"It's about fucking time!" Santana yelled in agreement.

Quinn rolled her eyes and settled her hand over her bump. "There are cameras around here, you guys!" she berated. "Honestly, what is wrong with the two of you?"

Puck ignored that comment from his wife and turned to press a deep, passionate kiss to her lips. "This calls for a celebration," he declared. "Let's go out!"

"Perfect!" Santana clapped her hands together. "I'll text Britt and tell her that we're coming."

Quinn smiled indulgently at her best friends. They ignored the press shouting questions at them as they left the arena. They knew that there would be hell to pay for it later—managers and agents would be calling them and yelling at them left and right—but they couldn't bring themselves to care.

It was half an hour later when they were at the bar. Rachel was perched on Finn's lap as she sipped at her pink drink, and she teased Puck as he drank his own. Santana was behind the bar, flirting outrageously with Brittany Pierce as she took bartending lessons.

"We knew that the two of you were together, by the way," Quinn said. "We've known since the wedding."

"Oh my god!" Rachel buried her face in her hands, while Finn laughed and tightened his arms around her waist. "Are you serious?"

"Duh. It's been pretty obvious that the two of you have been fucking," Puck announced. He was undeterred when Quinn shoved at his chest. "What? It's true. We all knew it."

"It's true," Santana agreed. She poured another pink drink and pushed it towards Rachel. Rachel finished the one she was holding and reached for the one Santana had made. She winced when the liquid slid down her throat; it was too much alcohol and not enough pink. She pushed it towards Puck, who gladly chugged it. Brittany made her another one, and Rachel smiled in thanks.

"It's about time, by the way," Puck said. "Finn has only had a thing for you since he met you."

"Dude." Finn was leveling a glare at Puck that had no affect on him whatsoever. "Shut the fuck up."

"Well, R has felt pretty much the same way about Finn since they met, too," Santana said before she turned and kissed Brittany.

Rachel groaned and flipped her middle finger up at Santana, who ignored her. She was glad that she wasn't facing Finn so he couldn't see how pink her cheeks were. Finn just laughed again and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck.

"It's been ten years of unresolved sexual tension," Finn murmured against her skin. "I'm not surprised they all figured it out."

Rachel wiggled her bottom on Finn's lap and smirked in satisfaction when she felt his arousal press against her. "Or we're just really obvious about it."  
"Like you're being right now," Quinn said lightly.

Finn jumped off of the barstool, pulling Rachel with him. "Yeah, we gotta go," he declared. He towed Rachel out of the bar, ignoring the whoops and lewd calls from their best friends.

It was hours later that Rachel laid herself out on Finn's chest, stretching against him. He smiled appreciatively at her as his hands stroked down her naked back and came to rest on her bottom. She brushed her messy hair out of her eyes as she smiled down at him.

"I love you," Finn murmured.

Rachel pushed up with her hands on either side of Finn's shoulders. "What?" she demanded.

"I love you," he repeated.

A blinding smile formed on Rachel's lips, and she leaned down to smack a kiss against his lips. "I just wanted to make sure I heard you correctly."

"So…" Finn's hands tightened on her bottom, and she arched her hips into his in retaliation. "Do I have to wait much longer, or…?"

Rachel laughed out loud and sat up so the sheet fell around her hips. "I love you too, Finn Hudson."

* * *

 **twenty.**

There was a big lump of man passed out on Rachel's living room floor.

But since that man was her husband, she supposed she could forgive him.

Especially because he had a little blue bundle safely cradled against his chest.

Wrapping her short robe around her, Rachel leaned against the wall by the entrance of the living room, smiling as Finn let out a light snore. The vibration in his chest woke the baby up, and he lifted his little head as he looked around.

His eyes caught onto Rachel, and he extended one little hand, rocking his body slightly in an effort to reach his mother. Finn had him protectively cocooned in the safety of his arms, however, so it was only when the baby kicked his little feet that Finn woke up.

"Hey," Rachel greeted when he blinked open his eyes. She couldn't even keep the laughter out of her voice as she spoke. "Do you want to explain to me why you're passed out on the living room floor with our son?"

Finn sat up, still cradling the baby against his chest. He smiled sheepishly at her before he climbed to his feet. "The little man was fussing all night, and you were tired. He only fell asleep when I laid down on the floor with him."

Rachel laughed outright at that, and she met Finn in the middle of the room. She ran her fingers gently over the back of her son's thick, soft hair. For a five-month old baby, he sure had a head of hair that Finn was strangely proud of.

"Hey, baby," Rachel cooed.

Austin Hudson looked at his mother with cinnamon-colored eyes identical to Finn's. His lips curled up into a smile, and Rachel couldn't hold back her squeal. She loved it when the baby smiled, and she insisted that it was the cutest thing she had ever seen.

Finn groaned as he passed the baby off to his wife. "My back is killing me," he complained as he made his way into the kitchen. He was in desperate need of some coffee. They were less than an hour away from having company, and he spent the majority of the night trying to get their fussing infant to sleep. He would need at least three cups of coffee to become a functioning human.

Rachel was already drinking her first cup. She would need at least two cups to become fully verbal, but that was just because she liked caffeine so much. Setting her coffee cup down, she cuddled Austin against her chest. Now that he was settled in his mother's arms, he was perfectly content to doze off once again.

"We don't have to cook anything, right?" Finn asked. "Because I'm not in the mood for that."

Laughing, Rachel lifted the coffee mug back to her lips. "No, everyone is bringing the food," she said. "So we just have to sit back, relax, and let everyone fawn over us."

Ever since they had started adding children to their group, they had moved their brunch get-togethers to each other's homes. They cycled through locations once every two weeks. Despite the added kids and the change in scenery, it was still the same as it had been for years.

Right on cue, there was a knock at the front door. Before either Finn or Rachel could get up, the door swung open and they heard Puck yell, "Where are you assholes at?"

"Puck!" Of course, Quinn wasn't far behind him, and she was already yelling at him. A blonde girl of four years old came tearing through the house, waving her teddy bear above her head like a banner.

Puck was carrying four bags full of food, and Quinn had another blonde little girl perched on her hip. Her eyes were narrowed at her husband as they entered the kitchen, but Puck was doing a marvelous job of ignoring her as he set the bags on the counter.

"Could you at least pretend and try and watch your language around the children?" Quinn demanded. "Austin's first word is probably going to be a four-lettered one if he spends much more time around you."

Finn laughed, but he quickly turned it into a cough when he saw the look Rachel was shooting him. He was distracted when the little blonde blur shot herself into his arms, and he held back his grunt when she accidently kneed him in the gut.

"Uncle Finn!" Beth Puckerman exclaimed. She shoved the bear into his face. "Look at my bear!"

Shifting Beth so that she was in a more comfortable position, Finn smiled. "I see, Bethy." He looked over her blonde head and gave Puck a pointed look. "Dude, your kid is just like you."

Quinn sat down next to Rachel at the table. "Thank god Isabelle is quiet," she said. She turned the one year old little girl in her lap around so that she could see what was going on in the kitchen. "I don't think I could handle two mini-Pucks."

"Babe, you know you love me," Puck declared. He had helped himself to a cup of coffee and was leaning against the counter. Austin's eyes were on him, and he grinned. "And how's the little dude doing?"

Rachel tickled Austin's stomach lightly, and he squealed loudly. She smiled when his baby laugh rang through the kitchen. "He kept Finn up all night. I found them passed out on the living room floor this morning."

Smirking, Quinn sent a pointed look Puck's way and he immediately took off after their oldest daughter, who was busy running through the house non-stop. "Well that's a familiar sight. Though it has been a while since you wound up on the living room floor."

"Like father like son," Rachel said with a laugh. As if on cue, Austin reached out his arms for Finn, his little hands clenching in the air. Finn took Austin into his arms and blew a raspberry on his cheek, causing Austin to squeal again.

The door swung open once again, and this time it banged off of the wall. "What's up, bitches?" Santana called.

Quinn rolled her eyes and covered Isabelle's ears. "What is it with all of you?" she demanded. "Our kids will be suspended for cursing all of the time!"

Santana came sauntering into the kitchen. She had two totes full of bottles of champagne, and Brittany was following behind her with several jugs of orange juice. "We don't have any kids yet, so it's not really our problem.

"Come on, Q," Rachel finally said. Quinn's never-ending campaign to end the cursing around the kids was amusing for all of them. That was probably why Santana and Puck did it as much as they did. "The kids will be fine."

"Plus the other kids will think that they're badass," Finn pointed out. Puck let out a whoop of agreement and bumped his fist with Finn's. They were both thirty years old, but if they were around each other for longer than thirty seconds, they were back to acting like fifteen year old boys.

Rachel laughed. "Well, there's that."

Not long after that, Blaine and Kurt entered the house. Currently, their only child was a Maltipoo that Kurt insisted on carrying around with him wherever they went. To Finn and Puck's amusement, the dog was named Ranger—after their hockey team, because Blaine was such a fan. Blaine and Kurt were using Ranger as a trial run before they started the adoption process. Kurt got to pick the breed of dog as long as Blaine got to pick the name.

After brunch was served and eaten, the Hudson house was a study in organized chaos. Beth was still running around, and Isabelle was attempting to chase her. Austin was on his baby blanket while Santana tried to get him to roll over towards her.

Kurt was yelling at Puck as he tried to feed pieces of bacon to Ranger, while Blaine was engrossed in the hockey game that was on television. Rachel and Finn were cuddled on the couch, watching it all play out in front of them. Rachel rescued their son from Santana and went back to the couch, plopping herself down on Finn's lap. Their little boy cuddled into Rachel's chest and fell fast asleep, oblivious to the craziness surrounding him.

"Our family is insane," Rachel mused out loud. She ran her hand up Finn's chest, and he took her hand in his and kissed her fingers.

"Yeah," Finn agreed. "But we're pretty crazy too, so I'd say that we fit in pretty well."

Rachel smiled and kissed him. He was right.

* * *

 **So I don't know if it's because it's been forever since I've properly written something, but I'm actually kind of proud of this. Let me know what you think!**


End file.
